I passed on the Frontier Airlines GoWild Pass because ultimately it seemed more like a scam than a flight pass…I may regret it, but my body won’t.
Why I Passed On The Frontier Airlines GoWild Pass
As I mentioned last week, Frontier Airlines was offering its unlimited GoWild Pass for $349, with the pass valid until April 2027 (the price is now $599). I figured if I used it 5-6 times, it would pay for itself and Frontier now serves the main airports I fly to within the USA:
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Burbank (BUR)
- Denver (DEN)
- Chicago (ORD)
- New York (JFK)
- Pittsburgh (PIT)
I rather naively had assumed it would be like a flight pass that airline employees enjoy, where if there is space available on your flight, you could get on. Specifically, the GoWild pass allowed for seat confirmation one day in advance for domestic flights and 10 days in advance for international flights, but I figured if a flight could not be confirmed, you could show up and be added to the waitlist, scoring a seat at the gate if there was space.
That’s a deal I’d take, but that was not the deal on the table.
Instead, availability was capacity-controlled and I was warned by several people that you have to essentially stay up until midnight the night before in order to grab your seats seconds after midnight, or else they’d go to other flyers. It made no difference if there were seats for sale on a particular flight.
And that, for me, was the clincher…it sounded like a horrible Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale.
I go to bed between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm each night and I’m not about to pull myself out of REM sleep to book a flight. Maybe if it was United or American or Delta, but even then, probably not, and certainly not on an ultra-low-cost carrier.
I wish airlines would sell “employee passes” (legally, of course…there’s a whole nasty black market for that sort of thing) such that you could also fly standby, purely on a space-avaible basis, but that’s a truly valuable fringe benefit for employees.
CONCLUSION
It may have been worthile just to spend the $349 and given it a try, even noting at the outset that I was nto going to hover around my computer at 12:00:01 am to book seats, but I know me and I know that I want to win every game I play and that this might be too much of a temptation and I’d fine myself up at midngiht and then enduring Frontier more than I should in my old age…
Leaving this deal on the table was an exercise in self-control!
> Read More: Why I’m Seriously Considering The Frontier Airlines GoWild Pass
image: Frontier
It would be great if you did go ahead and try the pass and share your experience and knowledge! You have a trusted voice and I would love to hear your take on it rather than some other sources who I dont know
I too have my concerns but I did end up buying it because I had no self control LMAO!! I’ll be documenting my findings and successes and frustrations on @projectmomcation IG/TT/YT for anyone curious!! From what I’ve researched so far, it’s definitely for those with flexibility, ideally close to a hub city. I’ve been playing around with availability and i’ve seen plenty i could book for next day to San Juan as well as a few domestic cities out of the NYC area. Staying up til midnight gives you the best bet but isn’t required… if you have a specific date and time you MUST FLY, this is not the way to go.
I have definitely lost some good sleep staying up. However, this pass has allowed me to be available to meet my family’s needs on a moments notice. When it works, it works! There are pros and cons to everything so eve try one just needs to decide based on their family’s needs and flexibility.
FWIW, it is currently just after noon on a Friday and there are still GoWild seats available from LAX on direct flights to PDX, DEN, ORD, IAH later today and to SEA, SFO, PHX, ORD, JFK tomorrow.
I decided to gamble on the pass when it was $299 back in September. I fly a lot and since most airline tickets are cancellable now, my plan was to just check the day before all of my previously booked flights to see if I could get a Frontier seat and cancel my other ticket. I figured I would only need to use it 2-3 times over 20 months to break even. I haven’t used it yet, but most of my travel over the last 3 months has happened to be to airports that Frontier doesn’t serve.
I definitely viewed it as a gamble though. I still think I will likely at least break even, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if I end up never using it. But there’s also a possibility that things work out and it could end up saving me thousands of dollars.
Interesting datapoint. Thanks, and I hope you can use it!
Ha! I like the line about having to win and self control. Points and airlines is a fun game!!
Noting you won’t stay up till midnight but you will take 50 sky team flights in a week 🙂
Are we that far away from telling AI to check a website at X time and book a ticket for us? When does that version of AI come out?
Shame on you Matthew for ‘suggesting’ that airlines should ‘sell’ their employee passes…. It would be a sure-fire way to preclude any non-rev staff travel on flights… Although there certainly won’t be any sympathy here, non-rev travel has been on a continuing devalued slide for the last 46 years …. Actually quite similar to what is being experienced now by points/mileage folks on the hamster wheel ! I’m so grateful I was fortunate to take advantage of that privilege when it was more worthwhile ..
Why is someone writing about a product they didn’t even buy? I review restaurants I’ve never eaten at and they are great reviews. What a waste of everyone’s time…. BTW I’ve had one of these passes for a couple years and this article is of no use t O anyone trying g to decide whether or not to buy one.
Thanks, Bradley. Appreciate it!
I totally get that it would be frustrating to end up on the losing side of the bargain (and knowing Frontier that would have been the likely outcome), but you are way better positioned than most to take one for the team and honestly report on the relative value, especially for those unwilling to jump through hoops to grab availability at midnight. I mean LAX is a big enough F9 operation that if you couldn’t make it work from there it would say a lot about the product. Also, it would have been an obvious business expense and not to nose into your finances, but based on your posts, I imagine you could absorb a total wash on $350.
Totally get why you didn’t do it and respect your choices and reasoning for saying no, but it would have been useful content for many. I selfishly wanted you to get it as someone based out of a fortress hub (well two separate fortress hubs) that has a decent amount of personal travel (mostly to visit friends/family) to destinations served non-stop by F9 and could also status match.
Maybe if they bring back the Black Friday pricing, I will. Even more tougher to justify now, though.