mbstone

Allegiant is a fine airline, so why does its website...

...automatically add airport shuttle service for $15, you have to hunt for the check box to remove it

... automatically add paid seat assignments for $8 a segment, you have to figure out how to remove (not easy) (since most G4 flights are nearly empty you don't need a seat assignment)

... automatically add $15 trip insurance, you have to figure out how to remove it

... automatically add a $40 bag fee, you have to figure out how to remoge it

and last but not least (drum roll)

The exit page is a come-on for Reservation Rewards, a well-known scam that automatically dings your CC $12/mo, forever.

Why does Allegiant make me spend an extra 15 minutes on their website, over and above the time spent reserving a flight, just to delete all the upsells and scams?

EmailKid

Maybe they are trying to drive online booking to Expedia, Orbitz or Travelocity @:-)

Often1

Because they are desperate for revenue. As you note, their flights are virtually empty. That's great for seating, it's bad for long-term prospects.

RustyC

Whatever you do, MAKE SURE YOU CAN GET AN AFFORDABLE CAR RENT (if you need one) BEFORE you pay for your flight if you're going someplace like PIE, Punta Gorda or even SFB. These airports have suddenly grown from very low levels thanks to Allegiant, and supply/demand on the limited car rents can swing very unfavorably at times as a result (or even sell out). Customers used to big airports with plenty of supply like MCO and TPA have been in for a rude awakening.

Tizzette

Does Allegiant charge for gate checked bags? Would think with regional jets, they gate check most regulation size roller bags anyway.

msp727

Regional Jets?

Allegiant flies the MD-80 series aircraft, they have around five MD-87 based out of Florida with 130 seats, being their smallest aircraft.

My 2 Cents on Allegiant Air:

They have purchased their aircraft second (or third, fourth...) hand and have spent little money to refurbish the cabins, with the exception of new carpet and slim line seats with no recline or seat back pockets to maximize the number of seats that can be installed. Paying cash for these planes allows them to be more flexible with scheduling not needing to have them in the air 12 hours a day to make a loan/lease payments. I've flown four times on their MD-88 aircraft which came from the now sold Midwest Airlines, which are basically junk. On one trip to Vegas two of the lavs were inop on the outbound and two days later on the return flight on the same plane, what a shock. The sticker on the door identifying them as inop was dated a week before the outbound flight.

I don't buy the priority boarding, because it seems the majority of travelers on this airline buy it, so it's not really priority. I always check one bag and pay my fee in advance because it's more at the airport. The flights are full of leisure travelers and I don't want to hassle with the overhead bins with that crowd. Plus the seats are slim line seats with no recline and limited leg room, so I don't want all of my bags to take up my personal space.

I don't buy a preassigned seat, I've found that rows 1-9 are not available for purchase on most of the routes operated by the the MD-80's due to aircraft seating differences, and have always secured a seat up front during the open boarding while everyone else heads to the back rows 10+. I am seeing that they are now assigning these rows (1-9) on a few aircraft that are in the new 166 seat configuration (they are removing the aft galley and adding more seats, the old aircraft only have 150 seats and have a rear galley) and on the 757 aircraft, so the new seats available might change my mind and I might buy a seat next time. The seats are leather and pre-reclined with headrests, and are comfortable for my small 5'7" height.

Inflight service is buy-on-board with your typical junk food and drinks, bring your credit card as cash is not accepted. They advertise that on long routes from LAS they do sell fresh wraps, but I've flown from a few midwestern cities and found these flights don't qualify. Bring something to eat or come full, a lot of the smaller regional airports don't have the best offerings at the airport.

The staff on-board is mostly friendly, young, and eager to sell you something to increase their incentive pay. The gate staff is subcontracted and could really care less about Allegiant. When they used to fly to Rochester, MN for instance the gate staff were the American Eagle employees.

I would fly them again as I feel that they are safe and a good value for the money, just be careful when booking on their website for the "hidden" additional add on's like the priority boarding, seat assignments, and ground transportation that are automatically added as presumptive sales (you have to remove them if you are not interested.)

Chydi

Has anyone travelled with their pet on Allegiant? I've never flown with my dogs. I have two Toy Poodles and am planning on using 1 carrier. Will I have any problems? Their website says they allow 2 pets per carrier.
Thanks!

melanie2915

You'll save a few bucks if you buy your Grey Line Shuttle ticket at their counter in Vegas. Don't buy it through Allegiant.

How do you get a promo code?

SBayGirl

I have horrific stories to share. I think it depends on where you fly from. I am based on the central Californian coast now. My nearest airport is MRY. I tried flying Allegiant MRY-LAX-MRY when they still flew LAX from MRY. It cost something like $60 RT without any frills added. This was also when they allowed you to choose a seat and print a boarding pass 2 hours prior to your departure. My flight out of MRY was unremarkable. Similar to Southwest in many ways. Boarding was prioritized according to how much you paid for the extras in order to board earlier.

My experience at LAX was less than stellar. My flight was delayed 4 hours, so I called my mother to pick me up and went back home while I waited for the departure time. Luckily, she lives only a few minutes from LAX, so this wasn't a huge problem. I was very late for work that day. Unfortunately, Allegiant had only a few flights a day and only three flights per week for that route. Instead of getting to MRY early in the morning, I ended up arriving late afternoon.

My next experience was flying MRY-LAS-MRY. Unfortunately, I think I was on a flight with a bunch of college students who were getting ready for a weekend of drinking and gambling. They were already drunk when we boarded. Instead of lining up systematically, the group seemed to rush the gates, almost stampeding over elderly customers and others who were trying to board in order. Line cutting was typical, and the gate agents did very little to keep them at bay. Then when we were settled into our seats and ready for take off, the passengers in the back were singing, screaming, and laughing at loud levels, cheering at take off and landing. I have only had this experience in Mexico where many of the Mexican passengers have never flown before.

On the way back in LAS, I was impressed with the gate agent. She explained the boarding procedure which was similar to WN's numbering priority. Our printed boarding pass had numbers. This was never explained at MRY. We board in order like WN. At LAS the boarding procedure was orderly and systematic. No line cutting happened like at MRY. Many of the return trip passengers were the same passengers that I flew with from MRY except they were hung over. It was unusually quiet on the way back. More quiet than the typical flights I take on other airlines. I believe the flight cost $200 RT compared with $400 on WN. (It was around spring break time.)

So there are my two experiences with Allegiant Airlines, flying MRY-LAX (no longer offered) and MRY-LAS (my only option now). I am not sure if I will fly them again. They would have to offer a damn good fare for me to deal with the craziness of the boarding at MRY. I would do it for $70 RT or less. Anything more, and I will probably go to WN instead.

Why? I don't like the website trying to trick me into buying things I don't want to buy. I also don't like not being able to pick a seat. At least WN gives you a number at 24 hours. Allegiant doesn't even let you do that. I think you have to wait until 2 hours to print the boarding pass that has a number. Finding a customer service number is difficult because it's set up primarily for website commerce. You have to search on the internet for the customer service number. It's not in the Yellow Pages or 411 directory, so store that number in your cell phone or write it down and keep it safe. Some things you can't do over the phone. You can only do it from the website.

I do like that they give you the option of going totally without every frill possible if you want a low fare. If you want free water, you have to drink up at the airport water fountain, but you aren't going to get anything free on the flight. That keeps the fare low. So if the fares are that much lower than other airlines, I might do it. Otherwise I'd skip Allegiant and go with an airline that boards with some degree of sanity. After all, getting run over by drunken college students isn't my idea of a good way to start a vacation, especially since LAS is my only Allegiant route at this point in time. LAX was a much better route for me, and I would have used it, but that's gone now. So now I either fly WN or AA to LAX, usually SJC instead of MRY when I would prefer to fly MRY as it is much closer to me than SJC.

Jay71

Great review. Very fair assessment IMO.
The wife has flew then a couple of more times recently. We feel the same way too in that it has to be a great deal on G4 for us to fly with them since we're willing to pay a bit more to avoid some of the potential pitfalls. But if things fall in place, we'd consider flying with them again.

thumbun

I've never flown Allegiant before, but the stupidity or lack of attention to detail of one of their pilots caused a 25 minute delay for me last night at LAX. I landed at LAX from SFO on United. We taxied from the north complex to Terminal 7 on the south complex. United has the wonderful Channel 9 so you can hear communications between ATC and the aircraft. As we exited the runway and transfered from the LAX tower to ground control, you could hear a frustrated ground control operator giving instructions to Allegiant 451 from Medford, OR to taxi to a Terminal 6 gate via a certain route. Unfortunately, the pilot was not listening carefully and not only failed to repeat the taxi instructions carefully (despite 3 corrections from the ground operator), but also taxied to the wrong side of Terminal 6 and shut down the aircraft's engines, which in effect blocked the alley between Terminal 6 and Terminal 7. For whatever reason, the Allegiant plane refused to restart its engines and instead tried in vain to get a "tow" to the other side of Terminal 6. Moreover, when the ground controller informed the Allegiant pilot of the error, the pilot responded with a very rude attitude. In any event, planes bound for Terminal 7 and part of Terminal 6 were stacked up on the taxiway for 25 mintues before the situation was resolved. I don't know about you, but if the pilot can't follow simple directions and take the plane to the correct gate, I don't want him/her at the controls in the air. Thanks Alligant for wasting 25 minutes of my time.

mvoight

I don't know about gate checking, but if you didn't pay the checked bag fee or the carryone fee, then I suspect you would have to pay something to gate check. You can only carryon on, for free, the personal item that fits under your seat.

Tizzette

The question dates to 2012. Now that you you must pay to carry on anything larger than a personal item, it's moot whether they gate check it or not.

happychic

I'm currently stuck at EUG.

My flight to LAX is supposed to leave this morning. Six hours later, we are all still at the airport waiting. They keep pushing the estimated departure time one hour or 30 min at a time. I really hope I get back home tonight. Their next regularly scheduled EUG to LAX flight is four days from now. We got meal vouchers worth $8 each, not good towards alcohol.

I asked the gate agent for some kind of proof of flight delay (military excuse was what the term I used). She ended up giving me a handwritten note. I doubt I can take this to Citi to ask for trip delay reimbursement.

While waiting for my flight, there was another flight from EUG to LAS that was cancelled. Passengers were told the flight will leave sometime next day, time unknown to the gate agent. No one was happy about this at the gate.

FWIW while my flight from LAX to EUG had a thirty minute delay, it was otherwise uneventful.