What is stretch seating on frontier airlines?

Frontier Airlines stretch seating comes with an extra five to seven inches of pitch. These seats also recline, unlike the other seats, and they offer bigger tray tables. Frontier typically offers five or six rows of stretch seating on its aircraft, including the exit rows.

It isn’t like I don’t have any desire to teach and inform or anything, but my writing style always gravitates towards making silly jokes about things like red shoes and Healthwhiches (leaving little mental energy left over to be serious and adult-like). I just can’t help it.

But today is your lucky day my friends! Grab your notebook and something to write with, because this Frontier Airlines A320 Stretch seat review contains a valuable life lesson which can potentially save you heaps of embarrassment and frustration as you arrive at the airport to check in for your flight.

F91701 Austin, TX (AUS) – San Diego, CA (SAN) Monday, June 25, 2018 Aircraft: A320-214 Registration: N235FR Duration: 2 hours 28 minutes Seat: 3F (premium economy)

This trip report begins on a dark and rainy Monday morning on a second-floor room at the Hilton adjacent to the Austin Bergstrom Airport. It’s 5:30 AM, and your hero (that’s me BTW) is shuffling out of bed with arms pointing straight out in front of him like a zombie trying to find the source of the piercing alarm which has woken him so violently from his zombie-like slumber. There’s a shuttle bus leaving for the airport at 6 AM, and his goal is to be on it. Let’s get going!

This is the point where the valuable life lesson comes into play, so I’m just going to spill it and not drag it out any further:

Hmm. Perhaps you were expecting something a bit more meaty than that? It does seem a bit anti-climatic, I know, but trust me on this. These people are not your friends, even if they look like happy / seasoned pros who have been on the job for 30+ years. Are you writing this down?

He seemed like a nice enough guy, greeting me with a smile as I stepped onboard, and asking me which airline I was flying this morning. “Frontier please”, I replied, not expecting anything else than being dropped off in front of the Frontier Airlines baggage drop sometime within the next 10 minutes. That seemed like a fair enough assumption, right? And right up to the point where we pulled up to the airport, things seemed to be going just as planned.

“Frontier departs from the South terminal” he said as I was stepping off the bus, followed with instructions on how to get there. “You see that bus stop 200 feet ahead? Just wait there and there will be another shuttle bus that will take you over to the South terminal in just a few minutes”. I thanked him for his help and walked down to said bus stop to wait for my ride.

25 minutes later, I was still waiting. I was seriously considering grabbing a taxi at that point, never even considering for a moment that I was actually in the right place and that the Frontier Airlines baggage drop was just 50 feet behind me.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen – I had been given bogus information and I was about to be sent on a wild ride over to the South terminal (a place which just so happens to be nowhere near the North terminal – or even the airport for that matter). Heck, it might as well have been located across the state line in Louisiana, because once the shuttle bus did arrive to scoop me up, it was another long 25 minute ride over there.

Once we pulled up to what looked like a series of temporary buildings clustered together out in the middle of nowhere, it dawned on me that I had been led astray and that Frontier Airlines did indeed depart from the North terminal (where I had been dropped off originally). Dang it.

Thankfully I have a habit of arriving at the airport stupidly early every time I fly, because I wasted an entire hour unnecessarily shuffling between terminals this morning. Even though I was in no danger of missing my flight, it was still rather embarrassing and not the best way to start a day of travel.

Once through security, I was thankful that I still had about an hour and a half to go before boarding was scheduled to begin. That gave me ample time to grab a bite to eat, and to berate myself a little for not paying attention and knowing ahead of time which terminal that I needed to be at this morning. I had definitely learned a lesson, and felt a little excited that I actually had something educational to share on the blog for once.

I found it interesting that our gate for this flight to San Diego was the exact same one (with the comically long jet bridge) that we arrived at just two days prior. The only difference between this flight and that one was that this was looking to be a little bit of a lighter load, and I was feeling pretty good about the possibility of having an open seat next to me this morning.

As you would probably expect, the Stretch seats on the Frontier A320 are identical to the Stretch seats on the A320ne0. They are extremely thin and firm, but I appreciate the gobs of space between the seats. Make no mistake about it. This sort of consistency is one of the things that makes Frontier Airlines so good.

Once onboard with the boarding door closed, the possibility of having an open seat had been confirmed and I was enjoying sitting there with a little bit of extra room to spread out. Unfortunately, there was a small child sitting directly behind me, and you know how small kids are with their natural tendency to kick seats.

I really thought that I was going to be in for a completely miserable flight, but thankfully the kicking stopped as we pushed off the gate and headed out towards the runway for departure. Disaster averted.

Nothing is free on Frontier Airlines except for water in a plastic cup, so I took full advantage of that and sipped slowly on that chilly H2O all the way to San Diego. Hey – I’m an expert in milking free things for as long as possible, and I did a number on that cup of water this morning. It was an enjoyable refreshment lasting the entire 2 1/2 hours.

Helping to pass the time on this flight was a bit of trip report writing and podcast listening (as usual). I didn’t even get up to use the lavatory once, and between all the writing, listening, and sipping, the flight went by in a flash.

One of our affordable luxury travel hacks is flying on discount airlines but buying the best possible seats. We’ve done this all over the world. On AirAsia in Asia. On RyanAir in Europe. And on Frontier and Spirit Airlines in the US.

And in our opinion Frontier Airlines Stretch Seating is generally worth the cost!

Frontier Airlines is an American ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) based in Denver, Colorado. As the eighth-largest commercial airline in the US, Frontier Airlines operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and several international destinations in North America.

And like ULCCs all over the world, Frontier’s pricing structure is based on providing a cheap base fare and allowing customers pay for perks like checked bags, cabin bags, priority boarding and/or better seats. The general idea is that a ULCC takes away perks that are included on full-service airlines and then you buy those perks back one by one or in a bundle.

Also like ULCCs all over the world, Frontier has a reputation for poor customer service and cramming as many passengers onto an airplane as possible.

ULCCs can be frustrating because their bundle and a la carte approach to perks like seat assignments, carry on baggage and other things legacy carriers include in the ticket price makes it hard to comparison shop all-in flight prices.

But Frontier does offer very cheap base prices, so even factoring in add-ons like bundles or stretch seats you can get a bargain flying on Frontier compared to United, Delta, American or even Southwest!

So despite the hassles we do end up flying on Frontier Stretch Seats as an affordable luxury travel hack.

Frontier Stretch Seats offer up to 8 extra inches of legroom. They can be purchased at time of booking or check in (subject to availability) or be purchased as part of a bundle.

Stretch Seats are the first 3 or 4 rows of seats on the airplane as well as exit rows.

The benefits include:

So it takes a budget airline experience and puts some whipped cream and a cherry on top!

And if you buy a bundle you’ll also get baggage allowances and priority boarding.

We like the exit row Stretch Seats on Frontier.

There is less competition for the overhead space during early boarding and the in-flight service for the back of the plane starts at the exit row at the same time that service starts in row 1.

The cost of a upgrading to a stretch seat depends on what type of Frontier ticket you buy, whether you buy a Frontier ‘bundle’ and where/when you buy the upgrade.

Frontier’s most expensive tickets include Stretch Seating as a perk.

Less expensive categories of Frontier Airlines tickets require a higher payment to sit in Stretch Seating. Or you can purchase a bundle of Frontier perks. The Frontier Works bundle includes stretch seating. The Frontier Perks bundle does not include Stretch Seating, but buying the Perks bundle may reduce the cost to add on Stretch Seats.

If you purchase a cheaper ticket and don’t buy a bundle the price to get an a la carte stretch seat is based on your ticket price as well as where and when you buy a stretch seat.

So you won’t know exactly how much a stretch seat will cost until you try to buy it.

Generally speaking, though, the best value is to buy stretch seating at time of booking or up to 24 hours before the flight.

Stretch Seats will cost more if you buy them during check in. And even more than that if you buy them at the airport or from the Frontier Airlines call center.

Since every Stretch Seat sells for a different price depending on your ticket, bundle and where/when you buy the Stretch Seat it’s hard to provide a definitive answer about whether the price of a stretch seat is worth the cost.

Of course, the value of a stretch seat also depends on how long your flight is.

But what we CAN say is that we generally buy the Works or Perks bundle since those bundles have the baggage allowances we want. And when we buy the Works bundle Stretch Seating is included.

As is an alcoholic drink…and we love the cans of wine on Frontier!

The Perks bundle does not include Stretch Seats, but when we buy the Perks bundle it has never cost us more than $10 to upgrade to a stretch seat. Of course, your experience may vary!

So to us Stretch Seats are generally worth the marginal cost!

Our limit to move from a standard seat to a stretch seat is probably around $25 per person depending on the length of the flight, but everyone will have their own price/comfort ratio.

Frontier Airlines Stretch Seats are a great affordable luxury travel hack. You get plenty of legroom for a comfortable flight typically for less than a cramped seat on a legacy carrier.

And sometimes the condensation leaves a heart on your window…

…or is that an alien pressing its face and arms against the window!? 😮

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With this low-cost carrier, you'll find that everything — and we mean everything — will cost you more money. But for not too much extra money out of pocket, you can select an upgraded Stretch seat. Stretch seats are in the aircraft's first three to four rows and exit rows and provide you with an extra five to seven inches of space.

For those looking to stretch out — and be near the front of the plane — Stretch seats are a solid upgrade option when flying on Frontier Airlines. Here's what you need to know to effectively buy a Frontier upgrade on this all-economy airline.

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When booking a Frontier flight, you can select a seat in advance. But, you'll need to pay a fee to do so. The fee varies per flight; typically, the lowest price you'll ever see is during the initial booking process. When booking your flight, the aircraft map will identify the cost of each seat — both regular and Stretch seats. You might even find that on the same flight, the cost per Stretch seat differs by just a few dollars.

Paying for a seat in advance is not a requirement for a Frontier flight. But, paying for a seat guarantees you'll get a particular seat and helps ensure you sit with any other passengers in your party. And with Stretch seats not costing much more than regular seats, it might be a splurge you are willing to make.

Although the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard doesn't offer any discounts or benefits regarding Frontier upgrades, you can still utilize many other credit card travel credits to cover the fee. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a $300 annual travel credit, and The Platinum Card® from American Express offers annual airline fee credits, which can help cover seat selection fees (you must enroll and select Frontier as your airline of choice before your purchase, though).

The information for the Frontier card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: Spirit terminates Frontier merger deal, paving way for possible JetBlue acquisition

Frontier Airlines offers two different bundle options when purchasing your flight — The Perks Bundle and The Works Bundle. They offer extra add-ons to your flight such as carry-on baggage, checked baggage, priority boarding and seat selection. Since Frontier operates on a la carte model, these bundled options give you a slight discount instead of paying for each option individually.

If you are purchasing The Works Bundle, you can select any seat on the plane for no additional cost — including a Stretch seat. This bundle is only available to purchase when initially booking your flight.

Related: Everything you should know before flying Frontier Airlines

The Perks Bundle, on the other hand, doesn't let you select a Stretch seat — just a regular seat. In fact, we found that purchasing a Stretch seat along with this bundle is more expensive than just purchasing everything a la carte. If you want a bundled option and an upgraded seat is a must for you, the more expensive The Works Bundle will often be your best choice.

Of course, you'll always want to price the extra bundle fee against paying for your desired add-on options individually.

Related: How to change or cancel a Frontier Airlines flight

The three Frontier Airlines elite status levels are Elite 20K, Elite 50K and Elite 100K. When earning any of these status levels, you unlock various benefits — one being Stretch seats. Frontier status grants you a free Frontier upgrade, so you'll be able to sit in a bigger and better seat at no additional cost.

With Elite 20K status, you won't be able to reserve a Stretch seat in advance unless you pay for it. While there's no Frontier upgrade list to automatically push your name to the top of the line, if a Stretch Seat is available at check in, you can select this upgraded seat for no additional cost. Unfortunately, this benefit is only available for the member with status and doesn't extend to traveling companions.

With Elite 50K and 100K status, you can select a Stretch seat for no fee when booking your flight. There's no need to wait until check in or figure out how to get on a Frontier upgrade list. This free Frontier upgrade is available to all passengers with these top two status levels and up to eight companions on the elite member's reservation.