CLEVELAND — Just in time for spring break, Frontier Airlines recently announced expansion of flights and its business at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. However, before you book with the company, News 5 Investigators found some data about Frontier that flyers should know ahead of time.
FISHERMAN CAUGHT 'TERRIBLE' FRONTIER EXPERIENCE
Russ Miller from Mentor criss-crosses the globe looking for trophy fish, but last month he reeled in a massive headache from Frontier Airlines.
“So, you’ve traveled the world and you’re saying this is the worst experience you’ve ever had?” we asked Miller.
“Yes, worst one, hands down,” he replied.
After a fishing trip, Miller and other passengers were supposed to catch a Frontier fight out of the Dominican Republic on February 25th of this year. It was delayed several hours, then canceled. Miller said there was no customer service.
Frontier sent Miller and the others to a hotel for the night. “The bus had to stop short of the hotel. The road was bad, potholes and everything. It didn’t look like a safe area,” described Miller.
He explained that he stood in line for a long time and eventually was told more bad news. “They don’t have enough rooms for 23 people. I was fuming then and so was everybody else,” said Miller. So, they boarded another bus to go to a different hotel. “It looked like Alcatraz. We had barbed wire all around the roof,” said Miller.
He told us the next day, they had the same flight problems at the airport. Passengers feared another cancellation. “If we would have had somebody there to just to say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on,’ everybody would have relaxed,” said Miller.
We talked to another passenger from the Cleveland area who was on Miller’s flight as well. She, too, said her experience was terrible, but that’s one flight. So, we looked further into Frontier’s overall track record.
FRONTIER AIRLINES STRUGGLES WITH PERFORMANCE
The Better Business Bureau gives Frontier an F-rating with nearly 6,000 complaints filed in the past three years.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reported in 2023 that of the 10 airlines tracked, Frontier was dead last for operations arriving on time with a 67% average. In 2022, Frontier recorded 66% of its flights on time, according to the DOT. For cancellations, Frontier again finished last in 2023 with the highest percentage (of 10 tracked) of its flights grounded.
The DOT report came out in February, the same month Frontier made a big announcement. “We’ve taken a liking to Cleveland. So, we’re really excited to be here,” said Frontier’s CEO Barry Biffle, who came to Cleveland to unveil 10 additional flights out of Cleveland Hopkins.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and even a bear mascot were there.
Frontier said in a recent news release that the additional flights will take off by summer. But, looking back at June, July and August of last year, on-time arrivals were 53.7%, 53.5%, and 62.1% respectively.
NO ANSWERS ABOUT FRONTIER'S TRACK RECORD
We asked Frontier for an on-camera interview. It declined and ignored our track-record questions altogether. It did send a statement apologizing to customers on Miller’s flight, giving a vague reference that it “was cancelled due to uncontrollable circumstances.”
“Flight 33 scheduled from Punta Cana to Cleveland on Feb. 25 was cancelled due to uncontrollable circumstances. An aircraft was brought in the following day to operate a new flight to get the passengers to their final destination (customers also had the option of requesting a full refund and making their own way to Cleveland). The replacement flight was significantly delayed but did eventually depart on Feb. 26. Customers were each provided a $75 voucher for the delay. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience these successive flight issues caused for our customers.”
We asked Hopkins Airport leaders for an interview. They, too, declined, sending a statement instead saying in-part that they “look forward to working with (Frontier) to create the best possible experience for our guests.”
“We are grateful for Frontier and their continued confidence in Northeast Ohio and in the City of Cleveland at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. We look forward to working with them to create the best possible experience for our guests. We eagerly await the positive economic impact to the community by way of the projected increase in jobs and what the future of the new crew base will bring to our guests with the introduction of numerous nonstop routes.”
So, think about that for a moment. They bring out the fun and fanfare for the flight expansion announcement, but when it comes to real data and issues surrounding Frontier’s track record, no one steps in front of the camera?
TRAVEL EXPERT WEIGHS IN ON FRONTIER
“If an airline isn’t running on time, then it’s not fulfilling a core promise,” said airline expert Henry Harteveldt from Atmosphere Research Group. He analyzes travel nationwide. He said Frontier operates a complicated route network and, like other budget airlines, has shorter turnaround times between flights, making it more difficult to stay on schedule.
Harteveldt told us no company should be happy when its on-time performance is much below 80%. “Not only are you not running a good airline, you’re not serving either your passengers or your crew members well,” said Harteveldt.
FISHERMAN BECOMES THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
In the end, Miller wasn’t fishing for another plane delay the day after his canceled flight, but he caught one anyway that was about six hours long before finally flying home. He said he came forward to warn others. “Why take a chance? It was terrible. I mean, (Frontier has) to get customer service,” he said.
