Airline staffing is generally improving, but there are still gaps…apparently including Frontier Airlines in Denver. An already-dicey involuntary denied boarding situation became far worse when a Frontier employee lost his cool and flipped out on a line of customers waiting to be rebooked.
“We Are Busy!” – Frontier Airlines Employee Flipped Out At Customers In Denver
Video of the incident was captured by a passenger named Daniel Lemon and posted on TikTok:
@danthe_doorman Frontier flight 2746 at Denver 3/17/24. Delayed 3 hours, then 25 of us got “involuntarily bumped” and sent to customer service, where there are no agents. The gate attendents scattered so someone knocked on the door to see whats going on and this ensued #frontier @Frontier Airlines #DIA #FrontierIsGarbage
(Warning – the video includes NSFW language)
In the video, we learn that 25 passengers were involuntarily bumped from Frontier flight 2746, a Denver (DEN) – Tampa (TPA) flight and sent to the customer service desk for rebooking. But when they arrived, there was not sufficient staff to help them.
So one of the passengers knocked on the door behind the counter to try to find someone to help.
One passenger lost her cool and began cursing. Another employee emerges and it appears that he is yelled at and responds by yelling back…arguing that he is not even a customer service agent and that “we are busy” and the customers should wait.
Finally, a supervisor shows up and apologizes for the delay, admitting they are understaffed. She asks passengers to be a bit more patient, but also states that she is calling for help to have the cursing woman escorted out.
Treat Airline Employees Kindly
I do understand the anger of the passengers. What kind of airline is so understaffed that there is no one to help a large group of passengers bumped off a flight? Caveat emptor.
But such wrath should not be taken out on the employees who do show up to work. It’s not their fault (generally) that their employer has not sufficiently staffed up. You generally will not get what you want by yelling or cursing…
Now there is also no defense for the conduct of the yelling employee. Airline employees should be held to a higher standard when it comes to keeping their cool. He should have just walked away if he could not control his mouth.
Delta has also been in the news today for offering passengers $1500 each on an oversold flight to Tokyo. It seems that Delta Air Lines handles bumps quite differently…
Did the Frontier Airlines who flipped out act reasonably considering the foul language?
image: @danthe_doorman / TikTok
I personally think that most airline employees are highly overcompensated and they’ve created their own problem. The reason why the airlines have to overbook flights is because they have to maximize revenue The reason why they have to maximize revenue is because their labor costs are astronomical because the unions that control the airlines. In a free market most pilots and flight attendants should make a third of what they currently make an airlines would be able to reinvest that money and better products or customers, and not have to worry about booking every single seat full
“The reason why they have to maximize revenue is because their labor costs are astronomical because the unions that control the airlines.”
Nah, it’s because profits for shareholder value and bonuses and salary for top management is the top priority, but they somehow have you blaming the unions for that.
“In a free market most pilots and flight attendants should make a third of what they currently make an airlines would be able to reinvest that money and better products or customers, and not have to worry about booking every single seat full”
In a free market people should be able to make a decent living wage. Also, as we have seen, most money is “reinvested” is, once again, shareholder value and bonuses and salary for top management.
Move to Russia. That’s the free market you dream of. You misses that public companies are owned by shareholders and their goal is to maximize shareholder value. Not happy with your pay? There are thousands of other places to work for.
My Delta stock was worth more a decade ago than today, and that is not even adjusting for inflafion. Most airlines operate on single digit profit margins. But keep believing airlines are making money like Apple or the tech companies.
What world are you living in? Most customer service and ramp personnel barely make enough to live, let along deal with daily crap from passengers. Same for flight attendants. Starting out some qualify for food stamps. Why do they deserve to have their salaries cut?!
This does not excuse this contractor’s (frontier has no customer facing employees at the airport) behavior, but I understand their frustration.
Smart guy, I think math is not your strong suit.
I’m glad that you don’t run an airline and especially glad that you are not God!
Airlines need more to repurchase their stock
Why didn’t the employee at the desk just inform the people in line the name of the manager and that they were contacted to address the affected pax? An employee has the responsibility to remain in control regardless of the tone from others. Otherwise, no one is setting the example.
First to say “You get what you pay for”.
Give him a rest break … he is overworked .
When you lie down with dogs, don’t be surprised when you get fleas.
Not the nicest thing to say about Frontier’s customers.
“What kind of airline is so understaffed that there is no one to help a large group of passengers bumped off a flight?”
At one time or another, all of them.
Frontier (and majority of Spirit’s) airport workers are NOT employees of the airline, they are contractors, even at their hubs. That should tell you everything you need to know about what F’s these companies give towards customer service.
Methinks that the kleptomaniac oligarchy of Putin’s Russia is actually closer to the free market that you dream of.
100%
Perfect example of getting what you paid for. You chose to fly Frontier, you get Frontier’s treatment.
Ummm, read what you’re writing. Unlike you rich people, some normal folk aren’t in a financial position to be so choosy and just have to go with the cheapest option if they want to visit mom. Your Let Them Eat Cake comment comes across as absolutely tone deaf to the travails of normal people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m genuinely pleased that you’re in a position to be elitist rather than scrambling to eke out a living wage but lots of people aren’t so lucky.
Ummm, read what you’re writing. There is absolutely nothing about being rich. It is about knowing what you are getting. You chose Frontier, know they are not known to be the best in customer service. So, as long as you know that, you are not allowed to curse at their employees. It is the same as choosing to stay at a Motel 6 and complaining they don’t have a buffet breakfast with someone making your choice of omelettes. You book what you can afford but know what you are getting into so no need to mistreat their people.
I misconstrued your comment. My apologies, you’re correct.
No problem at all. I think there is a much bigger problem with the way most people nowadays complain about everything. Yes, customer service is no longer a term you find on a dictionary but there are ways to minimize hassle with bad service. Being able to use better suppliers of services, companies that have a better structure or means to fix their mistakes, etc… usually makes lives easier. Remember a few years ago passengers that were flying Sun Country from Mexico to the US got stuck there for 3 days. Plane had a mechanical issue and they did not have a replacement. If you are flying a bigger airline, they usually have more than one flight a day, they fly everyday so in case of a problem, solutions are more manageable. Now, if the airline does not fly daily, that is a big red flag since if anything goes wrong you are out of options. But my point is that people should know the risks before making a choice and never mistreat employees because it is not their fault.
Do some research, with bag fees, seat fees and the possibility they will cancel your flight with no back up plane coming for 2 days and you are on your own, it can be way more expensive. Factor in they treat you like trash, there’s a good chance that your fellow passengers, who like you didn’t want to spend extra, will get into a brawl on the plane and everything else bad that these budget airlines attract. Spend an extra $50 and fly a better airline, you deserve it, be good to yourself!
Stop being poor.
First off I’d say to have some sympathy for the employee. For the love of god, the poor guy is working for Frontier and that’s enough to drive anybody over the edge. As Matthew mentioned, screaming at someone who’s trying to help you is pretty much never a good idea.
On another front, the passengers should have been pretty happy because they should be getting 400% of the one way ticket cost due to involuntary denied boarding compensation. Plus food and lodging if applicable. At a minimum that should ease the pain a lot.
See what you just said? “First off I’d say to have some sympathy for the employee. For the love of god, the poor guy is working for Frontier and that’s enough to drive anybody over the edge.”
That’s what I said on my post. It is Frontier. What do tou expect? That’s all I said. One have no right to complain if one choses to fly with them.
Customer service requires an awful lot of sublimation. This worker needs to find a new line of work.
@Pam … +1 . Perhaps bar bouncer ?
You clearly were not listening the guy he said he”was not in customer service he was in OPERATIONS” AND IF YOU FLY SPIRIT OR FRONTIER YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR…
Understand their frustration but still feel like frontier need to have staff who have little service mind for their job from my own experience the flight was no problem but the way some staff speak to customer s unacceptable understand we all pay cheap price for flight but nobody deserve to be treat that way because we still PAY for the flight not free and nothing free from frontier !!!!!!
Anyone who flies FronTEARS deserve to be treated badly, maybe even deserves a 2×4 across the head. God the worst experiences I’ve ever had were on this garbage airline.
Frontier has extremely difficult customer service. When something goes wrong, which is pretty much every flight I’ve taken through them, there is no one to call, no employee to speak with. They have no phone customer service, and to have anything resolved takes months of back-and-forth emails with overseas employees until it finally gets to someone who will do something to right the wrong that has happened.
It is not difficult to get a flight attendant job on any airline – I know this because I worked for Virgin Holidays out of MCO (Orlando). Frontier employees look overworked and exhausted. Delta, AA, SW employees look well put-together and rested. Even the person who does the examples on how to put on the life vest and all looks so disinterested on Frontier. They are a budget flight that relies on people to pay for a carryon or checked bag, seat selection and priority seating. But the overbooking is something every carrier is guilty of.
What everyone needs to know is that they are entitled to significant compensation if they are bumped from their flight. Not just a voucher for a future flight, but cash money equal to above the value of the ticket. They count on people not knowing this. I didn’t even know until recently. Start asking for the appropriate maximum compensation for having to be inconvenienced in a major way after paying for a costly flight you counted on flying.
I’ve been in those passenger’s shoes. Frontier outsourced ground handling to Menzies, who is chronically understaffed at DEN. Their gate agents send upset passengers to customer service but never communicate ahead of time. I found the contact information for the head of Menzies at DEN, complained and got no response. Frontier offered a $50 voucher due to its crew issue that forced an overnight delay.
Frontier is great when it works but terrible when things go wrong.
If you can’t handle the everyday needs of passengers concern questions,
You clearly shouldn’t have that job.
That’s what wrong with such ppl now..
They seem to forget the importance of communicating skills