When comparing two airlines, many factors are considered: their reliability, trust factor, punctuality regarding flight take-off and landing, incidences of cancellation, provision of amenities, and so on. All of these play a pivotal role in deciding which is better. Both Frontier and Spirit Airlines are America’s low-cost airlines. Each has its boons and banes. So, which one is better than the other? Read on to know more.
Who’s Better, Spirit or Frontier Airlines?
The Destinations They Cover
Frontier and Spirit Airlines cover many destinations within and outside the United States. However, Spirit Airlines emerges as the clear winner in terms of the number. Spirit Airlines operates around 675 routes covering almost 16 countries. Of these, 551 are domestic, and around 124 are international. In the case of Frontier Airlines, the number of destinations is less than Spirit Airlines’, 131 in total. Out of them, 100 are domestic, and 31 are international. It is evident that Spirit Airlines covers more places than Frontier.
The Reliability Factor
Speaking about reliability, Spirit Airlines beats Frontier again. According to records from 2022-2023, around 72.53% of flights were on time. Only 2.15% of flights were cancelled, while the delay percentage was extremely low, 0.34% per 10,000 flights. The rate of mishandled bags was as low as 0.52%.
Conversely, for Frontier Airlines, 66.7% of the flights were on time, while around 2.21% of them were cancelled. The delay rates were 2.36% per 10,000 flights, whereas 0.52% of the baggage was damaged or missing. Many passengers rated Spirit Airlines well and said the comfortable journey and low prices were a boon.
Loyalty Programs
Frontier has a more significant weightage than Spirit Airlines in terms of offering loyalty programs. Frontier Airlines’ miles program is slightly more valuable than that of Spirit Airlines. To attain the Elite status, you must spend considerable money with the airlines and fly a certain number of miles.
To achieve Elite 20k status, you must fly 25 segments or 20,000 miles. You will get perks such as free seat assignments, family pooling, priority pooling, waived redemption fees, etc. Spirit Airlines also provides benefits upon reaching Elite status, but that is not as much as the ones received by Frontier Airlines.
Flight Fees
Both are low-cost airlines, but Spirit Airlines wins over Frontier Airlines regarding flight fees. The fees change and vary depending on the class you are traveling in. For example, you can carry a personal item for free but must pay for the carry-on, which may cost $50-$90 on average. Spirit Airlines allows a personal item free, while any extra bag has to be paid for. A carry-on’s average cost is between $30 and $60.
Frontier Airlines also charges seat selection, anywhere between $17 and $55 per way. Spirit Airlines also charges a fee for seat assignments, which is lower than Frontier Airlines. It can be as low as $5 but will vary depending on the destinations and routes. Moreover, certain discounts and benefits offered by Spirit appear more beneficial than Frontier’s.
Wi-fi Availability
In-flight entertainment has become quite a craze in recent times. Your happiness doubles when you know the flight you are traveling on provides onboard wi-fi facilities. Right? Frontier flights do not offer wi-fi services or any other in-flight entertainment. It’s their way of implementing a cost-saving strategy to make tickets available to customers at a low price.
Conversely, Spirit Airlines offers Wi-Fi services starting at a nominal cost of $3.99, which varies depending on your destination and internet speed requirement. In fact, at $3.99, you can browse the web, share stuff on social media, and send emails. So, in this aspect, Spirit Airlines emerges as a winner.
Conclusion
Frontier and Spirit Airlines compete head-to-head, and one outweighs the other in certain aspects. Yet, from an overall perspective, Spirit Airlines seems to be a slightly better option than Frontier. Consider the pros and cons of both and make your choice wisely.
FAQs – Is Frontier Airline Or Spirit Airline Better?
Frontier Airlines is cheap and low-cost; however, despite that, the customer reviews on reliability and comfort aren’t satisfactory. So, to be rated as a good airline, Frontier perhaps needs to work on these aspects.
A source rated Spirit Airlines as one of the safest and most affordable airlines in the United States. As per WalletHub’s report, Spirit Airlines ranked third with 65.69 points after Alaskan Airlines and SkyWest Airlines. The parameters judged included departure, baggage, safety, comfort, and cost.
Frontier Airlines doesn’t have a good reputation for canceling flights. In 2023, around 2.14% of flights were canceled, followed by JetBlue at 2.1%.
No, Spirit isn’t four-star. The airport rating organisation Skytrax gave Spirit a three-star airline rating.
We mentioned above that Spirit is better than Frontier when it comes to flight delays and cancellations. However, compared to other airlines, Spirit doesn’t have a good reputation regarding flight delays, which annoys customers. As per the 2024 records, Spirit Airlines was after Frontier and JetBlue in flight delays at 28.5%.
Spirit has a mixed reputation. It is budget-friendly, and its loyalty program is moderately promising. However, it is noted for flight delays, and customers must know and understand the hidden fees, or else they will be at a loss.