01/28/2026
A Different Tale About F9
Recently, I needed to get back to California quickly, and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. So, looking at airfares, I had only one option: flying F9 from CLE to SFO and back. On the way out, I’d stop in Vegas, and on the way home, via Denver.
I booked their basic fare and then added the economy package. This allowed me to pick my seats on each leg, as I must have a window seat, and bring a small carry-on and personal item. As far as booking goes, it was easy. My only gripe was that my miles account was set up under Jeff, and I booked under my legal name, Jeffrey. Their system does not allow any changes, and they wanted $75 to fix this, so instead, I just printed my boarding pass or screenshot it. I had no problem picking a window seat; I chose the F side, back of the plane for all legs but the outbound from SFO. I chose the back because airline systems book middle seats front to back, so this gives me the best chance to not have a passenger in the middle seat. This strategy paid off. Only LAS-SFO was a full row, and on my last leg, DEN-CLE, I had all three seats to myself. This is beneficial when you're a large human and seats don’t recline.
As for boarding, everything was smooth on all four legs. We boarded in groups based on status, personal reasons, and where our seat was on the airline. All four of my flights left the gate on time, and all four of my flights landed early. This was huge, as a major storm was coming into CLE, and most airlines were slashing their schedules. Had I flown a major airline named after the continent we live on, I'm sure I would not have made it home Sunday.
Moving on, the in-flight experience is not a lot of bells and whistles. No Wi-Fi surprised me, as they are an airline of fees, but I had a good book and window to help time pass… and with an open seat(s) next to me, dozing off was an option as well. You can buy meals and drinks on board; I chose not to. I settled on paying $30 for a sandwich and a soda at LAS. I found the in-flight crew to be very professional; flight attendants were polite as well. In the cockpit, landings were smooth, and informative messages were shared about progress on the flight.
In closing, choosing F9 allowed me to celebrate the life of a great person; I got to my destination(s) early, and on a day where most flights were disturbed. I was not a big fan of the seats not reclining and no Wi-Fi, but I would fly F9 across the country if a similar situation happened, but would likely lean to fly them on shorter legs.
