Dear stumbled,
I was waiting for a $96 Frontier Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Trenton, New Jersey in March 2024. Gate agents announced they are seeking to fly the next day to let 20 volunteers fly instead, in order to lighten the load on the aircraft. Offer: $800 credit for future flights. (Or, was it multiple future flights? This was the subject of discussion among passengers.) I was asked to move forward and write my email address on a paper that other volunteers were handed over to do the same. The gate agent was patient and courteous, but did not provide a receipt. The next day, when I returned for a make-up flight, he was there again and asked why he hadn't received the email in credits, as the other passengers had. He didn't know. I then reached out to the Frontier, but the carrier made it extremely difficult to reach a human on the phone and sent me a really pointless email. A few days after the flight, I got a $384 payment instead of a voucher, but Frontier still owed about $300 from the previous year's cancellation, so I thought that was the case. Can I help? Linda in Princeton, New Jersey
Dear Linda,
Let's straighten this. Was the frontier's way for a $800 voucher to track volunteers by scribbling your email address on a piece of paper?
That's a rhetorical question. Because you emailed me a snap photo of the above sheet. That's what I started when I dug up your problem. Write a letter to nine other email addresses and ask if they have earned credit.
The eight wrote back to tell their stories. All (except you) received the vouchers, while three were unhappy about not being declared or promoting, while some complained that the vouchers turned out to be a one-off use. Dino of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, persuaded the Frontier to split the family's four $800 vouchers into $800, $800 vouchers.
With the help of the documents you sent, responses from your fellow passengers, helpful emails in interactions with Frontier spokesman Jennifer de la Cruz, I understood what happened and got you as much as you deserved.
When asked to write down the email address, De La Cruz wrote that what he wrote was “not a standard procedure.” Instead, the GATE agent is instructed to find a reservation for a customer in the system, confirming that the contact information is correct and annotating it as voluntarily or involuntarily refusing to board.
The difference is important. Compensation for unwillingly denied boarding – bumping – complies with US transport sector regulations, but airlines can provide whatever they want to volunteer. Your name has somehow appeared on an unwilling list. In this case I was able to receive four times the original $96 ticket, or $384. This explains the $384 when Frontier refunded his credit card two days after the original flight. (It had nothing to do with the 2023 cancellation.) Frontier sent out a $450 voucher to promise a little more than the promised $800.
De La Cruz also says that $302 to be exact – you borrowed from that 2023 cancellation. She said your local travel agent got the wrong idea what you were doing. According to the spokeswoman, it's a voucher, not a refund, and is only worth $54 after the fee is deducted. The voucher was issued in 2023 and expired three months later. (You claim you never received it.)
In courtesy, De La Cruz said that Frontier said he would send you $302 and received an email in the form of a check that promised $302. (For companies that charge extra fees if you don't check in via the app, Frontier uses a ton of papers!)
Incidentally, you and some other passengers gave the gate agent praise. Give him the bounty of doubt that he had no idea about the frontier system. These days it's a very common arrangement. Even gate agents wearing airline-branded uniforms are often contractors. This agent was kind enough to write down his work email address, so I was able to follow up. Alas, your message to him bounced back, but this wasn't the first time I had heard someone stray a handwritten email address.
So, what lessons are for those considering giving up a seat for a voucher? Beware of what the gate agents make verbal promises. Also, always try to obtain receipts and other written evidence. Watch your agent enter your information and ask you to take a screen and a photo of your agent – agree. If you support cash over time-limited vouchers in most cases and don't have an alternative flight until the next day, ask for a free hotel room.
Some positive news for potential frontier volunteers: De La Cruz said Frontier changed its policy to make the voucher suitable for multiple flights (independent of this article). That's a good thing. Because one of the volunteers on that handwritten list, Megan from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, wrote, “It's not easy to spend $800 on a frontier flight.”
If you're just booking at least one seat, I'll say. I'm playing with the Frontier booking page – and the notable North Dakotans – at this time of writing, you can go back and forth from Cancun, Mexico and checkered baggage at the last minute for under $750.
If you need advice on the best travel plans that have gone crazy, please email Trippedup@nytimes.com.
