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Let’s see if I remember how to do this.

Airline: Frontier Airlines Flight Number: 3179.

Flight date/time: Thursday November 23 2023, 10:26 AM-12:37 PM.

Aircraft: Airbus A320neo.

Aircraft tail number: Unknown.

Seat Number: 31F.

Route information: Miami Int’l Airport (MIA) to Chicago Midway Int’l Airport (MDW).

Gate Information: MIA departure gate F9, MDW arrival gate C2.

Weather conditions; MIA-Cloudy skies, temperatures in the high 70’s/early 80’s, light wind. MDW-Cloudy skies, temperatures in the mid to high 30’s, moderate winds.

Arrival at Miami Int’l Airport (MIA); We parked on level 6 of the Flamingo garage. Several parking spots were available and I was able to park without incident.

Check-In: This was my first time flying Frontier Airlines and I was not sure what to expect. Since I’m off-duty Law Enforcement, I had a firearm to check/declare. I packaged my firearm (Glock 27) in accordance with Frontier Airlines and TSA regulations. The check-in line was short to non-existent. I was able to print off my luggage labels at the automated kiosk without incident. Once at the check-in counter, I informed the customer service agent I needed to declare a firearm and presented her my credentials. The customer service agent was helpful and polite. She referred me to another customer service agent (Devin) who was extremely helpful and polite. After answering the standardized questions, Devin walked me over to TSA. I handed the TSA agent my checked bag and he indicated he would be back with me shortly. Within 30 seconds, the TSA agent indicated everything was in order and he indicated my luggage with my checked firearm was loaded onto the conveyer belt. On the way back to link up with my family, Devin and I continued chatting about different topics. I cannot thank Devin enough with his professionalism. I later contacted Frontier Airlines commending Devin for his excellent customer service.

Security Checkpoint Experience: Luckily MIA was not very busy on Thanksgiving morning. Security took maybe 5 minutes or less. It was not without incident though. A certain TSA agent was very rude to my wife and did not seem to know how to do her job. A second TSA agent was helpful and even apologized to my wife for the rude behavior of the aforementioned TSA agent. It is no secret I am not a fan of TSA. Certain TSA agents act like they are the Gestapo. If it was up to me, TSA would be disbanded and airport security/screening would be privatized. It has been proven government cannot run anything efficiently. I have already made contact with TSA to complain on the rude and incompetent agent. I’m not sure if it will go anywhere though.

Downtime between security and boarding; I walked around MIA concourse F and took several photos of other airlines/aircraft. As many of us know, concourse F was built in the 1970’s and it shows. While it was clean and efficient, it is really showing its age. Its probably one of the most primitive terminals I have ever flown out of. Good riddance when it is finally replaced.

Boarding: We paid extra for priority boarding and were assigned in “Group 2”. We were in our seats (Very last row of the starboard side of the aircraft) within 5 minutes.

Flight Experience/Service: Our flight took off on-time. I have flown on an Airbus A320 in the past but this was the first time I’ve flown on an Airbus A320neo. I don’t know the technical specifications of the engines but the Airbus A320neo seems to have really powerful engines. I cannot remember being on a commercial airliner with this much power. Due to Frontier Airlines being an ultra low cost carrier, in-flight service was very basic. Frontier Airlines does not have in-flight Wi-Fi, which was disappointing. In-Flight service was drinks, chips, candy, ect. for a fee. I purchased drinks and snacks for my family. The last row of the Airbus A320neo on Frontier Airlines does not have a window, which was disappointing. The seats themselves were surprisingly comfortable and had an adequate amount of leg room. I am 5’10, 220 lbs. and did not feel cramped at all. The aircraft was clean and the interior was bright/modern. The Flight Attendants were polite and professional. The flight was smooth and we landed on-time. I later found out it was the Captains first day on the job as a Pilot with Frontier Airlines. He made the smoothest landing I’ve ever experienced.

Deboarding/Baggage claim; Passenger deboarding took 10-15 minutes, which I feel is too long. It is not rocket science to claim your bag and depart the aircraft. I’ve long complained too many passengers carry on luggage which is too large. I get their point of not wanting to pay the checked baggage fee though. We were able to walk to the baggage claim and claim our checked bag within 10 minutes of exiting the aircraft. My firearm was intact and did not appeared to be tampered with.

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Airline: Frontier Airlines Flight Number: 3180.

Flight date/time: Sunday November 26 2023, 11:11 AM-3:13 PM.

Aircraft: Airbus A320neo.

Aircraft tail number: N353FR.

Seat Number: 31D.

Route information: Chicago Midway Int’l Airport (MDW) to Miami Int’l Airport (MIA).

Gate Information: MDW departure gate C3, MIA arrival gate F9.

Weather conditions; MDW-Cloudy skies, light to moderate snowfall, temperatures in the low 30’s, moderate winds. MIA-Cloudy skies, temperatures in the mid 80’s, light winds.

Arrival at Chicago Midway Int’l Airport: We arrived via Lyft without incident.

Check-In: The Frontier Airlines check-in line was longer than at MIA however it moved quickly. MDW did not have the automated kiosks so we had to see a customer service agent. I was somewhat nervous about checking my firearm at MDW due to Illinois and specifically Cook County being extremely anti-gun. I was greeted by Lillia Perez, who I present my credentials to and she asked me the standardized questions regarding my firearm. The zipper on our checked bag broke and Lillia was extremely helpful in providing tape to seal it. Lillia went above and beyond to make sure our luggage was sealed so it could be loaded onto the aircraft. I cannot thank Lillia enough and will be contacting Frontier Airlines to commend her for her excellent customer service.

Security Checkpoint Experience: Luckily MDW was not very busy yesterday. Security took maybe 5 minutes or less. Even though I still don’t like TSA, no issues took place.

Downtime between security and boarding; I walked around the terminal at MDW and took photos of various aircraft. I’m not a fan of MDW though. Although the airport is clean and somewhat modern, it is nothing special. It also appears to be too small for the amount of traffic it receives.

Boarding: We paid extra for priority boarding and were assigned in “Group 2”. Group 2 was never called so we had to board during regular boarding. I was irritated by this. Why should I pay extra for a service I didn’t receive? My wife later addressed this with Frontier Airlines. Frontier will be crediting us 10,000 miles.

Flight Experience/Service: The flight took off approximately 30-35 minutes late due to having to de-ice the aircraft. Once de-icing was complete, we took off without incident. The flight experience was uneventful and about the same as MIA-MDW. The Flight Attendants were polite and professional. The landing in MIA was a little rough but nothing too extreme.

Deboarding/Baggage claim; Passenger deboarding took 10-15 minutes, same as my previous flight from MIA-MDW. I will spare you the boredom. No issues with baggage claim as I was able to claim our checked bag without incident. My firearm was intact and did not appear to be tampered with.

Overall, I was impressed with Frontier Airlines. While Frontier is nothing special, they got the job done. I prefer Frontier to Southwest due to assigned seating, fares and the fact they do not operate Boeing 737’s (I hate 737’s with a passion). I will be flying to Atlanta multiple times for treatment from an athletic injury after the first of the year and plan on flying Frontier again.

I took several photos of my flight experience also. For the life of me, I cannot remember how to attach them. If someone can explain it to me, I will be glad to edit this and add photos. I hope everyone enjoyed this Trip Report.

Good, succinct report. I also hate 737s. My experiences with Frontier have always been great and they have even thrown me a few freebies. Giving you the mileage credit was a nice move of them. Strange that they didn't call the group.

I enjoyed my last Frontier flight in the Airbus more than I did AAL in the B38M. The seats were also on par with AAL. It was a short flight (<2 hours) and I had my own beverage and no need for snacks.

Lucas; I’ve never been a fan of the 737, other than the classics with the cigar shaped engines. Everything after the -200 bores me. The 737 just looks dull to me. Not to mention, I’ve always found them uncomfortable regardless of the airline/configuration.

I think Frontier contracts out their gate agents at MDW (Maybe elsewhere). The agents were wearing Menzies Aviation lanyards. This could be why they forgot to call group 2. I was also impressed by Frontier offering a credit. Every Frontier Airlines employee I interacted with were top notch. I also like their prices although I think their checked baggage fees are way too high.

I had read several negative reviews on Frontier’s seats but found them very comfortable. I never felt cramped at all. I was able to stretch my feet under the seat in front of me without a problem. I felt like they were comparable to any legacy carriers main cabin seating. The A320neo felt much larger than a standard A320 with two classes. I can’t wait to fly on an A321 to see how much larger they are.

I rarely purchase anything on short flights either. If I can’t go a couple hours without a snack or drink, I shouldn’t travel. Not to mention, I’m a really cheap Jew.

Delta767300ER wrote:I think Frontier contracts out their gate agents at MDW (Maybe elsewhere).

They do, even at DEN. Fuelers and Rampers too.

For the record, your MIA-MDW was N349FR (Hops the Rabbit livery)

Return was on N353FR (Blanco the Polar Bear livery).

8/10 star rating on your TR. It would have been 10/10 if you'd have had a Sig instead of a Glock.

Queso wrote: It would have been 10/10 if you'd have had a Sig instead of a Glock.

Although I do pack a P365Macro X these days...

Attachments

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miamiair wrote:

Queso wrote: It would have been 10/10 if you'd have had a Sig instead of a Glock.

Although I do pack a P365Macro X these days...

Great Trip Report . . . . .

What is this Sig stuff Queso speaks of?!

Glock is king.

miamiair; Thanks for the tail #, especially on the outbound flight. The layout of Concourse F at MIA screwed my view of the aircraft and tail #. I could barely see we had the Hops the Rabbit scheme. The view at MDW wasn’t much better and Terminal C is crowded as hell.

Queso; Thanks for the good review. LOL. I’ve always been a Glock guy. I like the simplicity and reliability of them. I haven’t shot an Sig in G-d knows how long.

ANCFlyer; Damn right Glock is king. I’ve owned Glocks for over 17 years. My previous department went to them the last year I was there. My current department (Where I’ve been for over 7 years) is strictly Glock. We switched to the Glock 17 a few years ago.

Shuffler; Makes sense to outsource employees I guess. Keeps things cheaper. Didn’t Vulujet do the same?