Negotiating with Frontier

San Jose, Costa Rica

i was sat at the ticket counter negotiating the price of the rebooking and baggage. initially facing a rebooking fee and a 99 US$ baggage fee, i left with only a 79 US$ baggage fee. a fee like that would not be a bargain except i flew frontier for about sixty percent of the price of a standard airline's fees; even with the baggage fee the total was lower than would have been elsewhere.

i do not want to negotiate with frontier again.

i started off the negotiation with the rebooking agent, Ahmed, a few comments about how the gate attendant, Zolaida, was lying, discriminatory, and just plain awful in the encounter we had in the minutes before. i shared with Ahmed that i had followed all the rules frontier had and still was rejected in my attempt to board the flight i had paid for. in reality, i had been 60 seconds late to the gate and the door was closed in my face by Zolaida. immediately after i was told to go to the ticket counter to rebook. i did not. i sat in protest at the gate. i sat silently, wordlessly, and with resignation. it was not until about thirty minutes later that i left for the ticket counter.

was i annoyed? more like excited. despite my mistake, i was eager to negotiate. frontier is famous for their letter-of-the-law ticket sales contracts that, if not abided precisely, result in exorbitant financial penalties for purchasers.

if there was one guiding feeling i relied on, it was to make it clear to Ahmed that i was happy to stick around all day until the matter of my rebooked ticket was resolved to my satisfaction. many times he attempted to dismiss me to the frontier app-based customer service chat room. i would not entertain the thought. he was persuasive, well-trained at dealing with difficult customers who would yell. those who would yell at Ahmed would quickly fizzle out while he gave a meek expression of understanding. when they lulled they would invariably book a ticket with the app at the maximum value frontier could legally extract from them. in many ways i admired Ahmed, not that i said it to him, because he was so skilled at dealing with angry customers. it was a sight to behold.

i saw these customers come and go because i was sat in place for what felt like an hour. Ahmed would come and go, invariably returning to me, having not taken up any option he offered. a time came where he relented, offering me a refund of the full fare. his manager rejected the idea. time went by, his manager and i began to negotiate directly. it all ended with Ahmed and i shaking hands.

i got on my rebooked flight with my reduced price baggage fee and no-fee rebooking while Ahmed dealt with the next angry customer.

what do i make of all this? be on time for a frontier flight, if faced with a fee above the ticket price as i am boarding then pay it immediately, and above all, be on time for a frontier flight.