Frontier Airlines’ hidden policy could leave passengers stranded | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Frontier recently won the dubious honor of being the most complained-about major airline in America, beating out Spirit (the second-worst-rated airline) by a whopping 10 points and earning 23.3 complaints per 100,000 passengers.

Most of the complaints centered around things that you’d at least expect could go wrong, such as flight cancellations, flight delays, mishandling wheelchairs, and involuntarily bumping passengers because the airline had booked too many people on its flights.

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Now, however, Frontier flyers have something else to worry about – and it’s not an issue most people would anticipate when traveling. The issue came to light recently when an 83-year-old woman found herself stranded at an airport late at night, hours from her intended destination.

The problem is that there are some troubling terms buried in Frontier’s contract of carriage. These may leave passengers vulnerable to being left in unexpected places after they have boarded a Frontier Airlines flight with the full intention of reaching a specific destination.

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Frontier’s policies could leave you stranded

The 83-year-old found herself alone at Tampa airport when she was supposed to be headed to Sarasota Airport instead. The plane was diverted to Tampa, which is understandable, since sometimes weather conditions cause planes to land in unexpected places.

What happened next, though, shows the big problem with Frontier’s policies.

After being alerted to the older woman’s plight, ABC Action News conducted an investigation and found that Frontier has a list of “sister cities” that the airline considers to be the same end destination. However, some sister cities could be hundreds of miles from each other.

In Florida, for example, Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville are all considered to be sister cities. Other “sister cities” include:

Dallas, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Little Rock, Arkansas
Washington, D.C., and Portland, Maine

ABC Action News had an attorney review the “contract of carriage” for Frontier, which the attorney explained specifies that if you are delivered to a sister city, it is the equivalent of being delivered to your ultimate destination.

Frontier Airlines has reportedly refused to answer questions about exactly how this policy would work in practice.

Refunds may be harder to come by due to the ‘sister city’ policy

The 83-year-old who was left in the Tampa airport was eventually picked up by her son, and while she was initially denied a refund, Frontier did tell ABC that she was eventually reimbursed around $50, which the airline claimed was equivalent to the miles she did not travel.

Unfortunately, the sister city policy could make it more difficult for flyers to receive refunds.

DOT rules require refunds for unused portions of travel if customers don’t get to their final destination. They also require refunds when trips are significantly changed, including if flyers end up in a different airport.

However, Frontier’s policy may consider a customer “delivered” if they are transported to a sister city, even if it’s far away.

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Travelers should be aware of this potential risk and should make sure they understand their rights as passengers.

While most people aren’t going to read the contract of carriage, it may be a good idea to skim it for anything unusual. It’s also helpful to research the reputation of any airline you’re thinking about flying to see if customers reported any unusual service issues, like the one with Frontier, that could affect your own flight.