Frontier Airlines

Crazy – and charming – travelers

Travel has been sort of crazy this week. But there is some sign of charming behavior out there.

There’s the saga of the drunken, raving passenger on Frontier Airlines who was duct-taped to his seat after assaulting and groping flight attendants.

At first, Frontier Airlines suspended the flight attendants involved. The reason? They had not followed the proper procedures. That didn’t fly with the Association of Flight Attendants – and many others. But the airline later came to its senses and said it now supports the crew members and will pay them.

On the other hand…

Not all people on airplanes and in airports are crazy. Some are just charming.

Frontier Airlines Tales of Tails

Like many other carriers, Frontier Airlines recently changed its policy regarding emotional support animals flying inside the plane: they are no longer welcome.

But a growing menagerie of animals continues to adorn the tails of all Frontier Airlines planes.

There are land animals, such as Al the Roadrunner.

Endangered species, such as Hugh the Manatee.

Sky Animals, such as Betty the Bluebird.

And aquatic animals, such as Shelly the Sea Turtle.

 It is fun to spot the animal tails at the airport. But because there are more than 100 airplanes in the Frontier fleet, you might never see them all.

And certainly not all in one place.

So, we are pleased to see that Frontier now has a webpage that features every Frontier plane tail and the animal that adorns it

The site includes a picture of each plane tail and tells a little bit about the animal that adorns it. And – avgeek alert – each animal’s webpage includes information about the aircraft as well, including the plane model, registration, seating capacity, engine type, the date of the first flight, and the final assembly location.

The airline is planning to add more features to the site, including downloadable coloring pages and activities, a page devoted to retired animals, and photos.

Do you have a favorite Frontier Airlines animal tail?

Airports upping their safety act with helmets and more

What are airports up to now?

If you’re heading to an airport now or sometime in the future, the new normal is going to be, well, different.

Masks for everyone, please.

As more and more airlines now require each employee and passenger to cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth, airports from Seattle to Singapore are adding that requirement to anyone entering the terminals.

Temperature checks may become the new normal.

Airports in Asia have been scanning travelers’ temperatures for quite some time.

Now Fiumicino Airport in Rome is using ‘smart helmets’ to check the temperature of passengers.

The device is worn by airport workers and allows them to check and measure the body temperature of passengers at a distance.

Frontier Airlines, which stepped back from charging an extra fee to keep middle seats free, will begin pre-boarding temperature screenings for passengers on June 1.

Customers will be screened via touchless thermometers prior to boarding.

If the temperature reading is 100.4 degrees or higher, they will be given time to rest and, if the flight departure time allows, get another temperature check.

“If the second check is 100.4 degrees or higher, a Frontier gate agent will explain to the customer that they will not be flying that day for the health and safety of others,” the airline said in its statement. Any passenger with a 100.4 degrees or higher fever will be offered the option to rebook travel on a later date or make other arrangements.

And don’t be surprised if in the not-too-distant future TSA officers scan you for a fever at the same time they’re looking through your stuff.

What do you think of these moves? Will it make you feel safer when you fly?

Tidbits for travelers: crumbling cookies & carry-on charges

Frontier Airlines, which adopted Midwest Airline’s sweet-smelling tradition of serving complimentary warm chocolate chip cookies to all passengers, has decided to nix that amenity at the end of April. The reason: “offering a free perishable snack did not align with our low-cost business model,” said an airline spokesperson.

What will be served instead? Elite frequent fliers – and anyone who has paid a fare above economy class – will get complimentary packaged goldfish crackers or animal crackers. Hungry economy class passengers can snack on those items as well – if they’re willing to pay $1 a package.

Another change in the pipeline: Allegiant Air – which already charges a per-segment website booking fee and adds charges for seat assignments, beverages, priority boarding, and other services – plans to begin charging $35 for each carry-on bag as of Wednesday. The new fee hadn’t been added to this long list of fees as of early Tuesday morning, but airline spokespeople have confirmed the new fee to various news outlets.