Allegiant Air Duluth MN-Orlando Questions

[snels]

Hi
Allegiant Air is offering a non-stop flight from Duluth MN to Sanford Airport in Orlando. We are excited about Duluth having another option. Right now all we have is Delta/Northwest...

We are not sure about the Sanford Airport...How long is the drive from Sanford to Disney?

Have any of you ever used Allegiant Air? The price of the ticket seems reasonable, but does the airline tack on alot of extra fees?

Any info on the Sanford Airport or Allegiant Air will be appreciated!!!

A non-stop from Duluth is a dream come true for us. It is such a hassle to fly to another airport and rush to catch another plane.

Thanks so much for your replies.
snels.

 

[Robbinsgirls3]

Hi, our last trip we flew into Sanford from NC. It is not in Orlando, you will have to rent a car to get to WDW, unless they have transportation now I don't know, we rented b/c we got in a few days b4 DW res. I would suggest NOT taking the toll roads, it cost us an addtional $10 to ride from Sanford to I4 which is where it ends up closest to WDW. They give you a map at the airport, and ofcourse they tell you go the express route, that is the toll road. I can't remember the road, but on our way back up we did not take the toll, and it was just as fast.

Allegiant air was ALOT cheaper for us, but watch out they charge for everything now, extra bags, picking your seats, advance boarding, and that's not worth it to me, maybe one extra bag that's all. The airport is smaller than Orlando and very easy to get around, you have to walk just outside a bit for the car rentals, not as close as some bigger airports, but not bad. All in all it was a very pleasant experience, it was a quick flight, and quick car rental and then we were on our way to Orlando. Sanford might be 30 minutes away and when you book your flight you can book cars too, we got a good deal. Check it out, you may like it. Good luck and have fun either way!!

 

[DebbieB]

The thing that would makes me hesitate about small airlines like Allegiant is you could really end up in a mess if your flight is cancelled. Airlines like Delta can pull another plane out of the hanger if there's a mechancial problem or they have agreements with other airlines to take you. Allegiant only flies out of your city 2 days a week, one flight each day, that does not leave room for problems.

 

[Robbinsgirls3]

The thing that would makes me hesitate about small airlines like Allegiant is you could really end up in a mess if your flight is cancelled. Airlines like Delta can pull another plane out of the hanger if there's a mechancial problem or they have agreements with other airlines to take you. Allegiant only flies out of your city 2 days a week, one flight each day, that does not leave room for problems.

That is a very good point! I would possibly call them and ask what happens with delays or flight problems. Considering the most recent airline faux pas in the news, they should have some contigency plans now??

We panicked a little with our flight last time b/c it was during all the bad wildfires around Orlando in 07, and smoke was filling up the flight path, we were delayed 2 hours, and we never had a back up plan for what we would do if we were cancelled?? Duh, our fault I guess, but they came through and said if it were cancelled we would have gotten money and a flight for the next day flight but that was two days later, so we lucked out I guess. Still, it was worth it when we got there b/c we had a bigger budget for DW and were much more relaxed than if we had drove down.

So, like you say apples to apples....

 

[Robbinsgirls3]

Just thought of something else, if your airport flies to Orlando, then it might also fly into ST Pete, so you can always ask what happens to bumped flights, can they send you to St Pete and provide for car etc... Don't know. We just moved to Tampa area, and I do know St Pete is probably double the drive time to Orlando than Sanford would be, so maybe not much of an idea, but I always look at options now just incase, learning my lessons now!

 

[dudspizza]

Just thought of something else, if your airport flies to Orlando, then it might also fly into ST Pete, so you can always ask what happens to bumped flights, can they send you to St Pete and provide for car etc... Don't know. We just moved to Tampa area, and I do know St Pete is probably double the drive time to Orlando than Sanford would be, so maybe not much of an idea, but I always look at options now just incase, learning my lessons now!

Nope, Duluth MN (I grew up about 80 miles west of there) is not a large airport. The only other destination that Allegiant flies to out of Duluth is Las Vegas.

Unfortunately, if there are issues with flights on airlines like Allegiant, you have to wait. They don't carry in-line agreements with other airlines. It is the chance you take for a non-stop flight.

That said, I would have no problem flying Allegiant to Orlando. My buddy flies them to Las Vegas all the time and loves them.

Just be ready to pay fees. They do change for everything, but can still be cheaper than the competition.

duds

 

[Edd]

There are no airlines that pull an airplane out of a hangar if they have problems with another. All planes are leased and in use constantly every day unless in for major overhaul. Most problems that come up can be taken care of on the ground. If that plane is grounded than the passengers are merged into another flight.

Like the SW in Tampa the other day. Many passengers were put on empty seats and got to their destinations in a round about way.

Allegiant into Sanford has a pretty good record. There have been delays sometimes later in the evening, not many, but nothing on the record where the passengers didn't get to their destinations or the flight was cancelled. If flights were delayed by weather than that same weather also delayed the flights into Orlando International Airport.

Allegiant has an excellent record in getting passengers to Sanford. They are a carrier that has been incorporated and licensed as a commercial carrier longer than Jet Blue. They choose Sanford as a landing site because the fees are much lower, which has made them one of two commercial carriers that does not have a profitability problem. SW is the other. Both companies showed profit in 2008.

 

[DebbieB]

There are no airlines that pull an airplane out of a hangar if they have problems with another. All planes are leased and in use constantly every day unless in for major overhaul. Most problems that come up can be taken care of on the ground. If that plane is grounded than the passengers are merged into another flight.

Well, I was on Northwest last year at MSP and there was a mechanical problem with our scheduled plane. We waited while they brought another over from the hanger. They parked it a couple gates down and we boarded.

How can you merge passengers from another flight when they only have 2 flights a week on that route? It's Monday, you have to wait until Friday?

All I'm trying to say is there is some risk involved. Something to consider.

 

[Edd]

Right! At every airport each airline has an extra plane stashed in a hanger on the same airport. Do you realize that airlines do not rent spaces to store planes. Some airports have a maintenance facility for certain airlines on the property, but they don't rent space to store extra planes in case one breaks down.

The reason why is that airplanes don't break down enough to warrant a repair facility at every airport in the U.S. Most breakdowns or malfunctions are repairable as the plane sits.

Have you seen any reports where Allegiant passengers were left stranded at any airport. I feel safe to say you haven't. It is the same risk any airline passenger takes whether they travel to Orlando or Sanford.

 

[rhiansmom]

Northwest's hub is in MSP so that is why they were able to pull another plane...they are based out of there but that is really rare.

We flew Allegiant out of Cedar Rapids, IA in July...while the non-stop was nice and the airport was small I really missed have the Magical Express to pick me up and take me back. We got an excellent price on our flight so it more then made up for having to pay to rent a car.

Coming back when we go to the airport we found out plane was delayed a few hours.. then a few more then a few more. The thing you need to realize is that they have a flight full of people needing to fly to whatever city you are going to... so if they end up having to cancel a flight they will get another flight in as soon as possible to fly you to your destination. They aren't going to abandon 100+ people needing to get to the same city until the next flight (which will also prolly be pretty full) so you will get home it may just like us be delayed quite a bit. In our case it was mechanical problems with the plane that was travelling from Las Vegas to somewhere and then that somewhere to Sanford.

All in all if I found that excellent fare again I would do it but for now I'm looking at Airtran out of MSP for my future flights.


Oh .. in my rambling I forgot about fees. We of course paid for the taxes above the stated fees then we could have payed to reserve a seat; board early and check a bag... but we didn't and it all worked out just fine. They worked with us when we checked in to get us seated together.

 

[snels]

Thanks for your help.

It seems the only way I get the real ticket price is to enter all of my info. I want to know what the price is before I give out personal info.

How much time does it take to drive from Sanford to the Epcot resorts? We get a towncar/driver for around $100 from MCO. It looks like the price doubles to around $200 for a towncar.

Thanks,
snels

 

[Robbinsgirls3]

Thanks for your help.

It seems the only way I get the real ticket price is to enter all of my info. I want to know what the price is before I give out personal info.

How much time does it take to drive from Sanford to the Epcot resorts? We get a towncar/driver for around $100 from MCO. It looks like the price doubles to around $200 for a towncar.

Thanks,
snels

Just a FYI, I filled out a request three times before I finally booked my flight with Allegiant. Yes you do have to enter information, but you don't have to enter any credit info until the very last so you see if that is really what you want, and also, at each step of the way there is an option for rental cars, hotels, tickets etc just like other travel sites. We booked a room for only two days of our stay and the car for the whole time. So it was fairly easy to get all the plans made at the same site, same time, same reservation.

Just curious, are you planning to drive around Orlando alot that you need a towncar, or do you just have the extra baggage you need the larger car? I had a family of 4 and we piled into a midsize and we were just fine, and it was not very expensive. Really we just needed it to get into Orlando, and drive to the hotel and then over the WDW, once we got to the resort, no need for a car anyways!

 

[snels]

Robbinsgirls3:

We usually hire a company to pick us up in a towncar and drop us off at our hotel...We don't usually rent a car and drive ourselves.

Thanks for the info.

snels

 

[happiestgrl]

We (AA) do the maintenance for Allegiant here in Tulsa. I will ask the maint rep here what happens in the case of a cancelled flight. I know of a few cases where the pilots have flown directly from Tulsa to Sanford in order to operate a scheduled flight. We usually have 2 or 3 Allegiant planes here at a time. They go out every 12 days (average)

 

[duffy]

Thanks for your help.

It seems the only way I get the real ticket price is to enter all of my info. I want to know what the price is before I give out personal info.

How much time does it take to drive from Sanford to the Epcot resorts? We get a towncar/driver for around $100 from MCO. It looks like the price doubles to around $200 for a towncar.

Thanks,
snels

I put in "mock" flights with the Allegiant web site all the time. I booked our flight from Hagerstown, MD a few months ago, and I want to see how full the plane is!

I put in "flight only", and the correct dates. Hit "submit". My dates right now are $59 each way. Allegiant always wants me to add a hotel or a rental car, etc. I just keep clicking "no thanks", until I get to the "Traveler Information" page. I put in my name, age, etc. and hit "continue".

Now comes the part where Allegiant tacks on all the fees. You will have to remove them if you don't want them. For example, my $59 each way is now a total of $146.20??!!? HUH?

I can click the "change" button next to my name, and choose a cheaper seat. I can scroll down and remove the check for "priority boarding". I don't care about that! Allegiant says, "ARE YOU SURE??" Yes. I am sure that I don't want to pay for priority boarding.

Click "continue" and now I'm at the page where I have to log in. I go ahead and do that. I am automatically now being charged $30 for my suitcase. If I choose not to take one-and I don't-I can remove it. Once again, I get a warning message from Allegiant. That's ok. I agree to the terms and conditions and go on.

FINALLY, I come to the page where I have to pay! Oh, and yes, there's an extra "flex fee" here added too!! Only NOW do I have to put in my credit card no. Up till now, I haven't bought a thing. I bail at this point, and say bye-bye to Allegiant!!

And yes, the site is secure! I know, because up at the top, I see "https". The "s" means it's secure. I've bought literally hundreds of items off the internet, and never had anybody steal my credit card number.

I like Allegiant. I like that I can choose what's important to me: seat, luggage, the "flex fee", etc. On my flight in Nov., I'll be with my 14-year old, who wants to sit beside me. If I was flying down with my husband, I might choose to sit anywhere-I don't need to sit next to him all the time! I may want to bring a lot of luggage, or not. I can choose to not pay for it and save if I choose. I wish more airlines had these many "a la carte" choices. I flew to Chicago for a weekend last fall, and just used my carry-on. If I could have saved $30 by not having any checked luggage, I would have, but my airline didn't have that option.

Oh, and here's what I decided to pay extra for: choosing seats together. I saved $60 by not bringing any checked luggage for either of us, and we have no priority boarding. I did get the flex fee.