The Midwest and Frontier airlines merger is basically complete. Both airlines are now part of “Republic Airways Holding Company.” And within a year, the combined airline will simply be known as Frontier Airlines. Period.
For now, while Midwest flights still show in reservation systems as Midwest, they also show one line below Frontier’s flight availability, and when booked they say “Operated by Frontier Airlines.”
As a travel agent I have learned over the years, when a flight is a code-share, it is generally safer to book it as the airline actually operating the flight.
This eliminates a number of potential problems, including but not limited to — confusion for the passenger, frequent flier mileage and upgrade issues and, most maddening of all, having the operating airline refuse to help with a problem because they were not the ticketing carrier.
So when seeing the flight available two ways, the logical thing to do is to book it as Frontier. Except that for a flight today, for example, that would have cost more than TWICE as much.
Frontier flight 492 on August 8 from Los Angeles to Milwaukee cost $425. But the SAME FLIGHT — booked as Midwest “operated by Frontier” — $192. (I only discovered this while trying to find any cheaper alternative.)
As an experiment I have been playing around in the computer system. July 23, Frontier 964 from San Francisco to Milwaukee, $314. Booked as Midwest, $206.
Midwest, formerly Midwest Express, has had a hub in Milwaukee, while Frontier has used Denver as its hub. With this in mind, I tried booking flights to and from Denver.
In the original Frontier markets, for example, Denver to LaGuardia Aug 2, the fares are comparable. On one flight Frontier is actually $6 cheaper.
On Milwaukee-Denver flights, between the two original hubs, Midwest is usually about $20 more, although one flight there is currently $100 more.
Of course, all of these fares are subject to change, but it illustrates a larger point, code-shares mean that not only do prices for the same flight differ by the day and time you book, they can differ by the flight number.
In this case, it’s particularly absurd since Frontier and Midwest are supposedly the same airline.
American and Alaska routinely have different fares for the same flights, but they have a marketing agreement to sell each other’s seats. They aren’t the same airline.
Internationally code-share price differences happen all the time, although the big caveat there is that sometimes booking under the partner carrier’s flight means no frequent flier miles.
Continental and United also have these fare issue. Their announced merger, however, is a long way from approval. Let’s face it, Midwest and Frontier have no excuse other than purposeful deception.
Anytime airline pricing machinations mean potential savings, it’s worth taking a closer look at the prices and code-share variations. As noted, code-shares may cause added complications, so again, all things being equal, it is normally better to book yourself on the airline that actually will be transporting you. When it’s a question of some serious money, then those potential complications may be more than worth it.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
