June 23, 2010
A letter from my Dad worth sharing:

PRESIDENT
FRONTIER AIRLINES
7001 Tower Road
Denver, Colorado 80249

RE: Handling of Son Troy’s Return Air Travel from Minneapolis to Denver to Attend Grandmother’s Funeral Service on Monday, June 7th.

Dear Sir:

As President, you carry overall responsibility for the success or failure of your airline. If the handling of my son Troy’s return flight from Minneapolis to Denver on Monday, June 7th was in keeping with your concept of “customer service”, the future of Frontier Airlines is certainly in doubt.

I have been a most loyal customer and proponent of Frontier Airlines (old and new) since 1963 and was extremely disturbed with how my son Troy Coleman was treated by your people on Monday, June 7th when he needed to alter his scheduled return flight to Denver to attend my Mother’s funeral services. While your policies regarding any ticket changes are clearly stated, compassion and real customer service are always in order, but especially so under these special circumstances. Unfortunately, both were denied – rudely!!

Without getting into all of the details (although they can certainly be provided should you desire), the following recaps events.

Troy booked his flight with Frontier from Denver to Minneapolis with return for the purpose of participating in the Minneapolis Marathon on Sunday, June 6th. Subsequently, he purchased (on Price Line) another ticket with return for me on the same dates so that I could attend the event and see him run. My tickets were both for early morning (on Friday, June 4th and Monday, June 7th) at 6:30 AM while his were for later in the day on the same days.

After my Mom’s passing in Seattle and arrangements for her flight and funeral in Denver were made, I decided that I could not go to Minneapolis so my tickets would go unused. We also realized that Troy’s return flight (on Monday, June 7th) would be too late in the day for him to attend the funeral services so he (and his brother Adam who also has Frontier status) tried (on Thursday, June 3rd by phone with Frontier) to alter his return flight to the one at 6:30 AM on which I was booked. He (and Adam) was told that to change the flight to the earlier one at that time, even given the extreme circumstances, would cost $270.00 ($100.00 change fee and difference in cost). Ironically, at that time, the cost to purchase a new one-way ticket on that flight (6:30 AM) was $135.00 and there were only 16 tickets sold. He was told that he could wait till the day of the flight, Monday, June 7th, get to the airport at 4:00 AM, pay a $50.00 same-day change fee, and get on the 6:30 AM flight. Only 16 tickets on the flight had been sold at that time so, greatly frustrated, but thinking that such was the best he could do, he decided to follow that path.

After running the 26.2 mile Minneapolis Marathon on Sunday, he wound-up taking the last train to the airport at Midnight so he could be there when the ticket counter opened at 4:00AM on Monday. Having spent the night in the airport, he was at the Frontier ticket counter at 4:00 AM. At that point, and thinking that he surely could get on the 6:30 AM flight since he knew that there would be at least one seat available (the one that he had purchased for me which was not to be used), Troy related to me that “the Agent at the counter was dismissive in telling me that all flights were full for that morning and seemed annoyed that I was there. The woman with him chuckled at his direct delivery”.

Totally disgusted, he went to the United Airlines ticket counter and had no problem purchasing a ticket for their 6:15 AM departure for Denver. Unfortunately, the aircraft incurred a mechanical problem and a part had to be flown in from Boston. Their people however, unlike Frontier, were very compassionate and told him that they would put him on another flight, at no charge, if they could not get a quick fix on the original aircraft. They did get it fixed and he got on his way. Now that is customer service!!

Troy was subsequently able to arrive at Crown Hill in Denver on that Monday, and participate as a very tired but proud pall bearer at his Grandmother’s funeral.

I have taken the time to chronicle these events and provide them to you still thinking that there is a lot of good in Frontier Airlines and that, as President, you have a need to know. What happened to “The Spirit of the West” that we loved? My entire family was shocked at Troy’s treatment under these circumstances and has vowed to never again fly Frontier Airlines - even though it had been our favorite airline with tens of thousands of miles flown! This is not the Frontier Airlines that we have preferred for years, is not the image that you advertise, and this is not the way to stay in business!!

Sincerely,

Donald S. Coleman


CC: Mr. Steve Snyder, Director of Corporate Communications
Ms. Bobbi Murray, Manager Customer Relations
Mr. Douglas Skelton, Director Customer Relations
Better Business Bureau
United Airlines

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