Straighten up and fly right

And now! I bring you the exciting conclusion to The Trip That Almost Wasn't:

Ms. [Armstrong]:

Thanks for sharing your recent experience flying with Frontier. It’s very easy to let stress build when you know you are running late and may not make your flight; our agents are unfortunately used to dealing with that stress that boils over when a passenger is told that they are too late to make the flight. At least you were offered the option of flying without your luggage or waiting. Most of the emails I get are from passengers who were told the only option was the next flight.

The reason for the 45 minute cutoff is twofold: (1) to make sure that the passenger has enough time to clear Security (even with a line delay) and reach the boarding area on time and (2) to make sure that the airline staff has enough time to load and balance the luggage; prepare the necessary paperwork such as passenger manifest, boarding list, and other FAA mandated documentation; board the passengers in an orderly fashion; and complete the pilot's check list prior to departure. At 45 minutes, the baggage cart leaves the bottom of the conveyor belt and heads out to the aircraft to commence loading; the computer closes the flight and begin to create the passenger boarding list; and, in most stations, the ticket counter is closed down so that the personnel can complete the other tasks that need to be done to get the flight in the air.

I will forward your remarks to the Washington Station Manager and to the In-Flight Supervisors office for their internal review and resolution. There is no excuse for rudeness – but I feel absolutely sure that the flight attendant was trying to make a joke . . . . one that in a more relaxed state of mind, you might have found amusing. Because of your experiences with our personnel, we will provide a $50 transportation voucher for use on a future Frontier flight. This will be sent via US mail to the address listed in your email, along with instruction for using it.

Thanks for visiting us at frontierairlines.com.

Customer Relations

Not bad. I'm glad they responded so quickly, though I could have done without the part of why they have their policy. I'd mentioned at least twice that I understood that. Oh well. My trip home for Christmas just got $50 cheaper!