An Honest Review of Frontier Airlines
By Carly Coombs | Posted: Dec. 10, 2025
Frontier often gets a bad rap as an airline with all of its added fees on everything to carry-on bags to seat selection to even printing off your boarding pass.
But, like most budget airlines, the super cheap fares Frontier offers are often tempting, especially if you’re looking to save a couple of bucks on your weekend getaway.
I’ve never flown Frontier before, but came across a $50 round-trip flight from Salt Lake City to Phoenix and thought I would try it out and see if the airline is really worth the cheap flights.
Booking the Ticket
For this trip, I caught a deal through a Flights From Home deal alert for $50 round-trip from Salt Lake City to Phoenix. (And if you want to save a little extra on Frontier flights, read this post on how you can book Frontier flights at the airport for cheaper.)
Typically, the cheapest ticket for Frontier does not include a carry-on bag or seat selection. This time, I was lucky, and the flight deal included Frontier’s Economy bundle, which included seat selection, a carry-on bag, and earlier boarding.
Being able to find a deal that included my bag and seats already was definitely a huge plus since Frontier charges for carry-on bags. (I checked a typical flight from SLC to PHX, and a carry-on bag cost $59, each way, and a checked bag was $49, each way.)
Frontier allows personal items at no charge, so if you’re going on a weekend getaway and can pack light, you can avoid some extra fees that way. (I’ve used this backpack on other flights where a carry-on costs extra, and you can fit a surprising amount in it.)
At the Airport & Boarding
Despite flying during the FAA flight reductions in November, both my departing flight and return flight took off without any delays.
The boarding process was smooth, and, due to purchasing the Economy Bundle with a carry-on, we got to board with an earlier group. One thing I quickly noticed was the amount of overhead bin space that was available, so I guess you can thank the exorbitant luggage fees for not having to worry about bin space.
The flight
One of the first things I noticed was that the seats weren’t very comfortable. Not unbearable, but they definitely lack cushioning and won’t have been great for a longer flight. But since my flight was under two hours, it wasn’t a huge issue for me.
On my flight from SLC to Phoenix, the legroom felt more cramped than on a typical flight, and I noticed the seat didn’t have a full-size tray table. The legroom for my flight home from Phoenix was comparable to other airlines and had a normal tray table.
Like many budget flights, Frontier does not do any snack or beverage service, so you’ll want to ensure you bring your own water and any other snacks or drinks you might want.
On both my flights, the flight attendants or the pilot read a 10+ minute pitch about Frontier’s credit card, with flight attendants passing out applications to passengers who wanted one. I don’t think I’ve been on a flight before where they were advertising the airline’s credit card, so this was interesting to me.
Final thoughts
For $50, I think this was a great flight option for a quick, extended weekend getaway. It’s very rare to find flights this cheap with non-budget airlines, so this was a steal.
The main thing that would prevent me from booking another flight with Frontier is the baggage fees. For this flight, I didn’t have to worry about it, but if the ticket didn’t include a carry-on, adding one to my flight would have cost $118, way more than the airfare. While Frontier charges for seat selection, like most airlines, Frontier does have a family seating policy that guarantees children 13 and under will be seated with “an accompanying adult” at no charge.
That said, if I found a similar deal that included the luggage or was planning a shorter trip where I could just pack a backpack, I would definitely consider Frontier again. For short, nonstop flights, it can be a great option if you want to save a little extra for your trip.
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