Last year, Frontier debuted a pass that promises unlimited travel for a year for a fixed price. The ultra-low-cost carrier has since introduced several variations of the pass, all creating the same illusion. This means you can fly anytime, anywhere with little financial outlay. but, Due to reservation restrictions, various taxes, and a la carte fees, Using paths is more complicated than you might think.
“The average round-trip ticket for a domestic flight is about $400, so that seems very attractive,” said Kelly Tan, an associate professor of economics at Loyola University in Maryland. “If I were a clueless passenger, I would think that once I get on the plane, I’ve won.”
Frontier frequently runs low-cost promotions, including fares starting at $19, which is 99 percent off the base fare. Once you add up all the extra fees associated with the pass, GoWild! Is it better than individual fares? I traveled for more than a week I’m trying to answer that question.
After flying to Las Vegas, Dallas, Cancun, Philadelphia, and Orlando (twice), he found a way to make the pass work for him. But you have to know how to outsmart the house.
How Go Wild!passworks
On every flight, passengers must pay every penny for airfare plus taxes and fees.Additional charges may apply for baggage, seat assignments, and valet assistance. and can far exceed mandatory costs.
According to regulations, tickets can be purchased the day before for domestic flights and 10 days in advance for international flights. Airlines offer early booking benefits, for a fee, of course. Holiday blackout dates apply, but there is no smart way around this.
Due to limitations, simply providing information to passholders is not sufficient. You need to be strategic. Some of the most convenient departure times or most efficient routes may not always be available due to limited seat availability or tight reservation slots.
Lesson 1: Leverage your Facebook community
On Facebook, one public group Go wild! He has a membership of 15,700 passholders who are “dedicated to getting the most out of their unlimited rides.” This page is a lively place for questions, advice, brags, and meltdowns.
Before joining, I wandered around the Frontier site, bumping into obstacles as if I were wandering in the dark. I encountered an international flight where returns were not possible. Some destinations appeared in search engines but were not bookable. Many of the layovers required overnight stays. Some routes made no sense geographically, such as the 23-hour flight from DC to Atlanta via Denver.
“They become disappointed and angry and stop using the pass. Then you join a Facebook group and you vent a little bit and realize you have resources and you’re happy again, right?” said Brad Nelson, a San Francisco-based software developer who purchased an annual pass. “I’ve seen millions of people go through it. In fact, I’ve gone through it myself.”
The Facebook community provides valuable advice and support for beginners. They recommend searching for flights after one minute past midnight, when the “day before booking” period officially begins. Share free baggage and advance booking promotions and send reminders when they are about to expire.
they again, 1491 club, a website Nelson created after too many fruitless flight searches. Named after a typical Frontier fare ($14.91), the site streamlines the search process by displaying only viable options for a given departure city and date. Since breaking the code, he has been flying around the country visiting his mother and Mickey Mouse.
“Now I fly everywhere because I don’t spend hours getting frustrated,” he said. “I’ve flown to Detroit four times now. I went on her Mother’s Day because her sister said, ‘We’re going to do something for Mother’s Day,'” Nelson said. Ta. “We took a day trip to Orlando. It was his Uber ride, $30 round trip.”
Calculate the price of a flight to Las Vegas
For my first GWP flight, I took safety precautions. Frontier canceled three dates over the Labor Day long weekend. In addition to vacationers, you also have to compete with passholders trying to get out of town. Turns out you don’t have to spend the last hurray of your summer in Washington or Fargo for a $50 advance reservation fee.
The original flight I had my eye on (leaving around dinner, short layover in Denver, arriving in Las Vegas at midnight) disappeared right before I tried to book it. So I chose the next best option: a connecting flight with a seven-hour layover in Denver.
I was skeptical about the storage capacity for my personal items, so I gave up and bought one carry-on. In total, your ticket will cost approximately $138. The discounted fare without the pass was only $25 more without the restrictions.
“It’s fascinating because people say, ‘Oh, that’s special.’ But they don’t really think about it until they actually get into that world. And they kind of regret their decisions.” ,” Nelson later told me with eerily accuracy.
But I didn’t wallow in my failures. When I checked the website the night before departure, the first flight I saw had returned. And even better, it was $25. But unfortunately, that’s not the case for me. Combined with the non-refundable fee and $99 change fee, the new flight would have cost even more than the initial investment.
Admittedly, I took Las Vegas because of its proximity to other locations. The next day I drove northeast to Zion National Park. Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Located in Kanab, Utah. I did not return until the night before the next leg of the experiment.
Independent trip to Dallas and Cancun
After my first failure, I decided to fully embrace the spirit of passing. I would let my adventurous self guide the planning, rather than my risk-averse ego.
From our hotel at the Las Vegas airport, we checked our options for the next day. He had two requirements. One is a direct flight departing in the morning. I was running out of patience with Sin City and long layovers.
Dallas answered my call with a fare of $15. I bought cheap tickets for the Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros game. Then I booked a hotel with an airport shuttle and free trolley service to the ballpark and was able to gloat for a minute.
Before I could enjoy the game, I had to think about my next move. I had my passport with me (one of the tenets of GWP is to always be prepared for impromptu international travel), so I started looking for international flights. Of Frontier’s approximately 90 destinations, 10 are in the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico and Central America.
All I could find was a flight to Cancun for the next day. The itinerary included one night in Orlando. During a game break, I scoured Central Florida for nighttime attractions. This later turned out to be a pointless exercise as I was spending the night in Orlando organizing the final leg of my trip.
One of the downsides to not living near a central city in the middle of nowhere is that it can take you all day, or even overnight, to get home. I found a flight to Washington that included one night in Denver, a night I would have rather spent in Mexico. I looked for other airports along the East Coast, figuring I could always hop on a bus, train, or another airline in a pinch.
I ended up deciding on a Cancun -> Orlando -> Philadelphia itinerary. I checked Amtrak and saw a train going to Union Station. I booked a $157 flight and tried to book a shuttle from the Cancun airport to the resort, but they required reservations 24 hours in advance. Due to last minute planning, I missed the deadline and had to pay double the taxi fare.
In Mexico, I had just enough time in the soothing Caribbean Sea to soothe my lower back, which was starting to hurt from hours spent sitting in thinly padded airplane seats.
Seat upgrade and free coffee
I ended up spending hundreds of dollars in flight-related expenses, far more than I expected from the pass, but there were some moments of glory.
I never opted for a premium seat by paying extra, but I ended up splurging on my row or the exit row. Twice, because of my ticket, I was relegated to a window seat in the last row. In one case, the flight attendant took pity on me and moved me to an empty row. The other day, flight attendants said they needed to leave that row open for medical emergencies or flight attendants with adjacent jump seats. bathroom door.
In Orlando, Frontier Airlines canceled its Philadelphia flight and combined its passengers with ours. Gate staff asked for volunteers to sit in the exit row. I jumped up so quickly that the entire row of seats shook.
Frontier, a budget airline, charges for food and drinks, with the exception of a complimentary cup of water. However, the kind flight attendant on our trip to Denver waived the charge for a cup of coffee. “I’m going to throw it away after the flight is over,” she told me.
I also learned a trick from a passenger who was sitting across the aisle. She ordered a glass of hot water, then rummaged in her handbag and pulled out a tea bag. I tried it on the next flight and the one after that. The only person who protested was the flight attendant, but when I told her how cold it was on the plane, she comforted me and brought me some steam.
On many flights, I chatted with the flight attendants about passes. They gave me advice on which destinations to visit (Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis) and which to skip (Orange County, California, Houston). A Las Vegas-bound crew member named Troy hit me with his fist when I told him I was traveling in his GoWild for a week. Passed.
“You’re the first pass holder I’ve ever met,” he said excitedly.
It’s possible if you’re open to the unknown, live near a hub, can travel light, and don’t need to be in a specific place at a specific time. It may not be for you if you need advance planning, need to attend an important event, are not centrally located and need a wardrobe change.
The biggest checkpoint was the additional cost. Taxes and fees are minor, but I was prepared for baggage fees, which could have been avoided if I had been more savvy about packing. But we ended up paying for a hotel and round-trip airport transportation in a transit city we didn’t necessarily want to visit or had time to explore.
With eight months left until the pass, you have time to perfect your strategy. But until you give up multiple costumes, Frontier always wins.