We’re planning a trip to the Branson, MO area later this year. Frontier is the only option for us to the Branson airport. However, with only one flight per day, I’m a little concerned about being left high and dry for 24 hours should a problem arise. Anyone have any comments about Frontier? How about a site on which I could check out their history in/out of Branson?
Southwest also flies to Branson. And if you’re scared of Branson in general, consider flying into Springfield, Mo. I believe some of the hotels even offer shuttles to Springfield.
Try the DOT website for airline performance.
If I am reading their report correctly, in 2012 Frontier cancelled 1 Branson departure out of 13 reported operations. This year, they’ve reported 6 flights, 0 cancellations.
Seems like too few flights, maybe just seasonal service.
I wouldn’t worry about cancellations. According to above, Frontier’s system wide cancellation rate is about 0.2%. Compare that to United at 0.55% and American’s abysmal 1.92%.
Airlines will normally compensate you for delays caused by things that are their fault, like mechanical issues.
Weather delays and cancellations are another story and airlines usually won’t compensate for those. But weather that causes delays in Branson is very likely to be causing problems at any other airport within reasonable driving distance.
I’ve never flown on Frontier, but my mother has, a half-dozen or so times (from Milwaukee to Denver), and never had a complaint about them.
That’s what my mother and step-father did. We met them at the Springfield airport and drove to Branson. With 4 lanes, Hwy 65 is nice to drive on unless you don’t like hills.
BTW: I highly recommend the Branson Comfort Inn at 5150 Gretna Rd. I’ve stayed there 5 times and it was always nice. However it is about 3 miles away from the main part of Branson, so you’ll need a car to get around.
You can compare trip insurance policies on a site like squaremouth dot com. I doubt it would be very expensive for a trip like you’ve described.