Originally Posted by
rhwbullhead
How does Allegiant do so well? I have never flown them but my experience with my mother using them a few times in Florida years ago was that it was very similar to the Spirit And Frontier model.
alternate airports, like RFD in Chicago, some small airport north of Orlando that's starts with an "S" that I can't remember right now. Spirit and Frontier seemed to move away from this alternative airport thing.
Fares cheaper if you buy at the airport.
Orlando-Sanford (SFB)
Allegiant technically has a loyalty program, but not like Spirit or Frontier. Every person you see on Allegiant with a bag paid for that bag, every person paid for their snacks or beverage, etc. On F9, Gold and above get free carry-ons; on Spirit, Gold and above gets a free snack and drink. Allegiant charges (a lot) for all of that, with no way around it.
Allegiant is also meticulous about keeping their costs low. Once upon a time, I flew them frequently SFB-TRI because they were the only direct flight between those two airports. Their reliability was so bad that I would make dinner plans at the same time as my flight was scheduled because I KNEW it would be delayed... and I never once missed a flight because of it. And if you asked Allegiant for any sort of compensation, the answer was basically that you eventually got where you were going and if you wanted more you could go kick rocks. LOL
That, and flying old retired AA MD-80s until they literally fell apart is probably how Allegiant did so well.