It’s been a while since I last flew with Frontier. While my wife flew with them once in 2024, I hadn’t been on a Frontier flight since 2019. Even then, I paid extra for the premium package, which included stretch seating at the front of the plane. I think that’s because the year before, we flew with Frontier for the first time and picked a regular seat. That was also my first encounter with their micro-sized tray table.
Booking a Budget Trip
Maybe over time, I’d forgotten just how tight a regular seat on Frontier could be. But when I booked a quick getaway to Fort Worth, I decided to stick to a budget. The cheapest flight was on Frontier, and since I only needed a small bag, I booked the lowest fare without any extras. That meant everything for my trip had to fit into my personal item, which would be my Bento Bag—just small enough to pass Frontier’s sizer.
Since I was going as cheaply as possible, I didn’t pay for a bundle. That meant I could either pay Frontier’s fee for a seat or take my chances and let them assign me one at check-in.
Seat Selection Costs on Frontier
Frontier charges for every seat selection—even the worst ones. A regular seat near the back was $35, slightly better seats were $40, exit row seats were $60, and stretch seats up front were $80. I wasn’t about to pay $35 for a seat that I’d be assigned for free anyway.
Trying to Get a Good Seat for Free
Since I was going to take my chances with Frontier assigning my seat, I read a few articles on how to get a good seat without paying:
Most strategies involved waiting until the last minute to check in, but I didn’t want to risk that. I did, however, set my seat preference on my Frontier account, hoping it might help. When I finally checked in, I couldn’t believe it—Frontier assigned me the absolute worst seat on the plane.
Stuck in the Worst Seat
I was in seat 41B—the middle seat in the very last row.
I was in disbelief. Of all the bad seats available, they gave me THE worst one. But after a while, I decided to embrace the experience. It’s valuable information to share, right? Plus, this seat wasn’t just bad—it was worse than other economy seats because it’s an inch narrower than the standard Frontier seat.
At least there was one silver lining: no one could recline into me because none of Frontier’s seats recline.
Prepping for the Flight
Before my flight, I spent some time at the Capital One Lounge at DFW, grabbing food and enjoying the Wi-Fi. Then, about 45 minutes before departure, I headed to my gate. We were slightly delayed, but I saw that our plane had arrived early, so I thought they might start boarding sooner than expected.
As I looked for a place to sit near the gate—avoiding seats near kids, sleeping people, and large groups—I heard an announcement over the loudspeaker.
A Last-Minute Opportunity
“We have seven exit…”
That was all I needed to hear. I immediately walked to the counter.
A few passengers beat me to the desk, but I was hopeful. The agent reassigned a few people, then suddenly said, “Who took that seat?” Uh-oh. How many seats were left?
Two people were ahead of me in line. Then one. Finally, it was my turn.
An Unexpected Upgrade
“You looking for an exit row?” the agent asked.
“Yes. But honestly, I’d take any of the seats those people gave up if there’s nothing left,” I replied.
She scanned my boarding pass, glanced at the screen, and I thought I saw the faintest smile. She then asked me the usual exit row questions—can I speak English, can I assist in an emergency, can I lift 50 pounds? I said yes to all.
“Refresh your app for the new seat assignment,” she said.
There it was: seat 27C—an exit row aisle seat.
According to Seatmaps.com, this seat has 50 inches of seat pitch, and after sitting there, I believe it. The legroom was insane compared to the rest of the plane.
The only downside? The tray table was in the armrest, making the seat a bit narrower.
The Power of Luck
So, instead of writing about how awful it was to sit in the worst seat on a Frontier plane, I get to write about how I lucked into an exit row—for free. None of the tricks I read about worked, but in the end, all it took was dumb luck and being in the right place at the right time.
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