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Among other airlines, the ultra-low-cost U.S. carrier Frontier Airlines took a severe hit from the pandemic situation. The Coronavirus forced Frontier to change and cancel many of its scheduled flights. Continue reading to find out how to handle your low-cost Frontier Coronavirus flight change and cancelations.
Moreover, most of Frontier’s passengers didn’t want to attend their flights during the peak of the pandemic. And it is common sense. People don’t want to put their health at risk, especially for a low-cost fare.
These factors made the airline shrink its flight volumes greatly. If you think American Airlines’ 60% capacity reduction was huge, think again. In April Frontier cut more than 90% of their flight capacity.
Furthermore, as any other airline, they had to make some policy adjustments. Frontier had to address the increasing need for passengers to change or cancel their flights.
COVID-19 Frontier Airlines Flight Changes and Cancelations
At the beginning of the pandemic, Frontier took some measures like other major U.S. airlines. However, after initially keeping up with the trend Frontier airlines didn’t extend their change or cancelation fee waiver policy for the current months.
All other industry leaders, including fellow low-cost airlines like JetBlue and Spirit, constantly updated their policy to add flexibility and ensure peace of mind for their customers. Sadly, Frontier didn’t follow their lead.
Currently, if you are not absolutely sure about your travel dates and destination we wouldn’t recommend flying with Frontier. And we haven’t even included the existing health risks in the equation.
Still, the airline made some changes and we have to mention them. Hopefully, if you booked your flight with Frontier you will be eligible for their Coronavirus change and cancelation fee waiver.
Frontier’s last policy update for flight changes or cancelations was made on April 16, 2020. First, we will tell you the bad news.
If you booked before March 10 and were set to travel between March 10, 2020, and April 30, 2020, but haven’t contacted Frontier by now your ticket can’t be changed, canceled or refunded, unless Frontier canceled the flight themselves.
The airline offered a one-time free flight change or cancelation. However, it was extremely restrictive. Your flight should have been rebooked in 90 days of cancelation.
With most airlines now offering more than 1 year to do that, Frontier’s 90 days requirement seemed out of place during these unprecedented times.
However, if you managed to cancel your flight and rebook it in the 90 days period your flight should take place before September, 2020. That again is not a very generous timeframe, when most airlines give more than 2 years.
If your new flight is more expensive you should pay for the difference. On top of all of that, if your new fare is cheaper Frontier doesn’t provide a reimbursement, even in the form of a voucher or e-credit.
There is not much difference in Frontier’s newly booked flights. If you booked your flight between March 10, 2020, and Apr 15, 2020, again you are eligible for a one-time fee waiver. Other terms are exactly as described above.
What about tickets purchased after Apr 15, 2020? Well, for them the standard change and cancelation policy of Frontier applies.
Frontier Airlines’ Change and Cancelation Policy
Frontier has a simple cancelation policy. They haven’t amended the policy since the start of the crisis, in spite of the exemptions we mentioned above. All time frames and fees remain the same as usual.
As you can see you can cancel your fight 60+ days before departure for free. Frontier knows that most people will book their future flights further in time, especially in the current circumstances.
Despite that, we think that Frontier won’t see a spike in volume for the summer season. The $79 or $119 change or cancelation fees are too heavy and probably will eat up most of the ticket value for a low-cost fare.
Furthermore, other airlines’ policies are much more favorable at the moment. Many treat their newly purchased tickets as refundable. For these reasons, people probably won’t book near future flights with Frontier to avoid the risk of paying penalties.
And we advise you to do the same.
Also, even if you manage to cancel your Frontier flight 60 days prior to departure you won’t get a financial refund but a travel credit for future Frontier flights. However, bear in mind this travel credit expires only in 90 days.
You don’t have to travel in the next 90 days but you should decide and book your future Frontier flight within that frame.
Anyways if you are set to travel you can get some amazing discounts with Frontier. Learn how you can save an extra $40 with cheap Spirit & Frontier tickets at the airport
Frontier Refundable Tickets
Of course, Frontier offers its customers the opportunity to purchase refundable tickets. However, they do it in a slightly different manner.
They have two bundle options called PERKS and WORKS. The WORKS bundle is the most exclusive and actually the one that has a refund option.
Frontier uses these bundles to sell other services which are typically not included in their low-cost fairs such as seat selection, carry-on bag and more.
The great price of the PERKS Frontier usually provides at the initial booking may tempt you. However, you have the option to add the WORKS bundle (refundable ticket) only at the initial booking so choose wisely.
As of the price of these bundles, this varies depending on your destination and flight dates. For example, here are the rates for a round-trip from Austin to Chicago a month from now.
The price of the round-trip is $168. So if you want your flight to be refundable that cost would go all the way up to $468. However, that is not an unusual markup for refundable tickets plus you get all these other extras.
Frontier Award Tickets Cancelation
A downside of Frontier award reservations is that they are subject to taxes and fees, as well as a redemption fee. The taxes and fees can be between $5.60 and $135.60 and the redemption fees are between $15 and $75. Nevertheless, you can avoid these fees.
If you book 6 months(180 days) in advance, if you have the Frontier Mastercard or if you are an Elite member these fees are waived.
Frontier Elite program has three tiers – Elite 20K, Elite 50K and Elite 100K.
Qualifying members get a lot of perks which we won’t discuss. You can check the details here.
However, none of the elite status levels is free of change or cancelation charge. The fee is $75 flat if you want to cancel or change your flight and redeposit your points.
How to Get a Refund instead of Travel Credit?
Since the crisis begin many wanted to cancel their flight and get a refund. But is that possible? As it turns out in some instances it is.
If you cancel your flight within 24 hours from booking you can get a financial refund. However, this rule applies only if you are set to travel more than 7 days after your booking.
Also if you get military orders or your travel companion passes away you can get your money back. All of these rules are enforced by the government and each airline should abide by them. And there is one more rule that is extremely important to know, especially in the current situation.
If an airline cancels your flight, you are entitled to a full financial refund by LAW. Most airlines including Frontier are trying to give people travel vouchers as the companies are currently short of funds.
If Frontier cancels your flight and refuses to issue you a refund remind them of this rule.
How to Contact Frontier Airlines?
To change or cancel your flight you can contact Frontier Reservations department at 801-401-9000. Additionally, if you call this number and select other options and then feedback and concern you can submit your complaints with Frontier.
The airline is also active on social media so you can reach out to them via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Frontier also has its own blog called Travel Tails. A very innovative communications channel which many companies still don’t have.
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