Customers will no longer be able to dial a phone number to talk with a live agent on Frontier Airlines. While cheap airlines are notorious for their cost-cutting efforts, most large airlines still have customer care lines.
Customers will instead have to rely on other methods to contact the airline, such as a chatbot on its website, a live chat open 24/7, its social media platforms, and even WhatsApp, according to Jennifer De La Cruz, a Frontier spokesman.
The change, said De La Cruz, “enables us to ensure our customers get the information they need as expeditiously and efficiently as possible.” She said the airline found that most customers preferred communicating through online channels.
When consumers phone the airline’s now-defunct customer care line, they hear a taped voice informing them of other ways to contact the company.
“At Frontier, we offer the lowest fares in the industry by operating our airline as efficiently as possible,” the airline’s customer service line now replies.
According to the airline, the phone center was closed down last weekend.
Frontier’s bid to merge with Spirit, another low-cost carrier, failed in July. Instead, Spirit agreed to combine with JetBlue, a low-cost carrier. In addition, Frontier was one of six airlines penalized $7.5 million in November for refusing to compensate passengers for canceled flights.
Even low-cost airlines are unlikely to lack a customer care call center. Two low-cost competitors, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Airlines, still employ contact centers manned by real people. At least one airline, Breeze Airways, is also said to lack a customer phone number. People can amend their trip arrangements using other channels, such as the internet or Facebook Messenger.