Allegiant Air...Orlando Sanford?

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Our area is getting an Allegiant Air. It does not fly to MCO, but to Orlando/Sanford...What is your experience with this airline? What is your experience with the Orlando/Sanford airport? Do you still get Magical Express???
TIA

 

[kymom99]

I have not flown allegiant but I know people who have and like it. I have looked into it but it seems like all the fees outweighs the advantages. No, magical express is not available there.

 

[amylevan]

We fly Allegiant into Sanford. We have not had any issues, and I actually prefer Sanford to MCO. It’s so much less crowded, less waits for security and just easier.

You can’t use Magical Express though. For us, it’s a non-issue since my parents are snowbirds and pick us up at the airport and drive us to our resort, but it can be a turn off for others.

 

[Monykalyn]

We've done Allegiant as well-
Few things to consider as far as fees
cheaper to pay debit/cash at airport for tickets.
40# bag limit (not 50# like most airlines)
no snacks etc.
No issue when we have used them with cancelled or delayed flights (we have actually had more delayed flights with SW than either Allegiant or Frontier).

However-I have found cheap car rentals out of Sanford (we prefer having a car regardless of where we stay), Sanford is a much smaller, and easier airport to navigate. I didn't think the time from landing, getting luggage and car to resort in Orlando was a whole lot longer than ME (especially if you wait on ME but for 20+ minutes before you leave).
And some amazing deals can be found. Lately I have found much much better deals on Frontier - although we live 3 hours from an airport with frontier worth the drive when I run the numbers.

 

[Narnia_girl]

We've flown Allegiant to Sanford. I really like the smaller regional airports that Allegiant uses, and the parking is often free.
The planes themselves are cramped, but as my son says "that's the price you pay for the price you pay."
I believe they are one of the worst airlines for delays.

Sanford is a nice airport.

Overall, we prefer Southwest but Allegiant is an acceptable alternative.

 

[powellrj]

We like using allegiance and Stanford. The car rental was easy to get to and the drive isn’t bad at all. We always rent a car anyway so that part is a non issue to us.

 

[amylevan]

I believe they are one of the worst airlines for delays.

I have heard this, but not experienced any major delays. I will add that for us, we are flying it out of our small regional airport instead of major airports in NY/NJ/PHL and that tends to help with delays. On our last flight, we pulled away from the gate about 10 minutes late, and the captain says, "We are currently Number 1 in line for take off." LOL Had that happened at Newark, we might have been bumped to like 50.

I didn't think the time from landing, getting luggage and car to resort in Orlando was a whole lot longer than ME (especially if you wait on ME but for 20+ minutes before you leave).
And some amazing deals can be found.

It's a farther drive to WDW from Sanford (about 50 minutes or so) and depending on how you go, you actually drive past MCO about halfway into the drive. But as noted, if you end up sitting on an ME bus or have to wait to be the last resort dropped off, it may end up being a toss up for time.

 

[JBeaty0507]

We have had good experiences with Allegiant. We have only had a noticeable delay once in about 10 ish trips with them and still it was only a couple of hours. Usually even with a car rental and baggage fees, we still come out cheaper than Delta, which is our preferred airline for other travel and we get free checked bags with them. We also like that it is a direct flight as everything else out of our airport goes through ATL or CLT. This makes it a shorter trip for us. Just be aware of fees and weight limits and you should be fine. We find Allegiant very suitable for us for a trip to FL.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I have not flown allegiant but I know people who have and like it. I have looked into it but it seems like all the fees outweighs the advantages. No, magical express is not available there.

Hmmm...I'm not into the nickel and dime stuff. I like to know up front..Thank you for the info!

We've done Allegiant as well-
Few things to consider as far as fees
cheaper to pay debit/cash at airport for tickets.
40# bag limit (not 50# like most airlines)
no snacks etc.
No issue when we have used them with cancelled or delayed flights (we have actually had more delayed flights with SW than either Allegiant or Frontier).

However-I have found cheap car rentals out of Sanford (we prefer having a car regardless of where we stay), Sanford is a much smaller, and easier airport to navigate. I didn't think the time from landing, getting luggage and car to resort in Orlando was a whole lot longer than ME (especially if you wait on ME but for 20+ minutes before you leave).
And some amazing deals can be found. Lately I have found much much better deals on Frontier - although we live 3 hours from an airport with frontier worth the drive when I run the numbers.

40LBS!!! I would JUST make it and DH would go over...DS would be fine...but his bag isn't big enough to carry extra stuff for mom and dad....LOL

We've flown Allegiant to Sanford. I really like the smaller regional airports that Allegiant uses, and the parking is often free.
The planes themselves are cramped, but as my son says "that's the price you pay for the price you pay."
I believe they are one of the worst airlines for delays.

Sanford is a nice airport.

Overall, we prefer Southwest but Allegiant is an acceptable alternative.

Cramped won't work either. DH has long legs.

Thank you to everyone for their honest insight. I appreciate it! The prices seemed great, but the service was very specific (I think they only fly out of our airport Wednesdays and Saturdays) No ME makes it kind of unmagical for us as we enjoy that part of the trip...even with a small wait. Sometimes the airfare is what puts a kink in our plans...

 

[msb578]

I'm tempted to try Allegiant sometime. I got hung up irrationally on one of their top executives (CEO? Not sure) coming from ValuJet. It made me uncomfortable. I just need to get over it!

 

[zoo2tycoon]

We used to like Allegiant. We've not flown into Florida but from Indiana to Arizona. We flew a few times with no issues until December 2017. My 21 year old was flying to see my parents. This was NOT weather related in any way! I can't stress that enough. Long story short there was an issue with an oxygen tank needing to be filled. An hour after the plane was to leave and after boarding everyone they told them there was no oxygen at the Indianapolis airport and they had to DRIVE to Cincinnati to get it. The plane left 6 hours late! The put them on and off the flight 3 times. It was a flight leaving at night so the restaurants and things closed. There were excuses, etc. Cincinnati is 2 hours from Indianapolis.

A thing to remember is Allegiant in many markets flies only certain days. If your flight is canceled you won't fly out until the next day they fly (which most likely isn't the next day). My husband had a coworker who had a change of planes by Allegiant. It went from 3/3 to 2/3 so ALL the middle seat people on the one side including him didn't get to leave that day. It was oh well by Allegiant. They don't work with legacy airlines to get you on a flight.

Seats horribly uncomfortable - hard molded plastic that don't recline. My back and rear were a mess from the uncomfortable angle. Read the safety issues on Allegiant.

Positives we did not have any issues until my son. The flight attendants were always nice. We landed safely but will never ever fly Allegiant.

 

[Allison]

(I think they only fly out of our airport Wednesdays and Saturdays)

This is what makes it a risk I am not willing to take anymore. If your flight is cancelled, you don't have many options. You might not get on another flight for days.

 

[Klayfish]

Always makes me LOL when people say "never again" when they have one single issue with an airline. If that's the case, they either don't fly often, or should never fly any airline again. I've experienced issues with pretty much every airline. IMO, the worst, by far, is Southwest. They're horrid, awful, terrible. Even having said that, I'll still use them when their schedule and price fit my needs, but I cringe and cross my fingers every time.

Anyway, big fan of Allegiant. Sanford is such an easy airport to get in and out of, light years better than MCO. Not that MCO is bad, but Sanford is awesome. I have never found Allegiants' planes cramped...in fact they're more spacious than others, since the seats are a bit thinner...gives more leg room.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Always makes me LOL when people say "never again" when they have one single issue with an airline. If that's the case, they either don't fly often, or should never fly any airline again. I've experienced issues with pretty much every airline. IMO, the worst, by far, is Southwest. They're horrid, awful, terrible. Even having said that, I'll still use them when their schedule and price fit my needs, but I cringe and cross my fingers every time.

Anyway, big fan of Allegiant. Sanford is such an easy airport to get in and out of, light years better than MCO. Not that MCO is bad, but Sanford is awesome. I have never found Allegiants' planes cramped...in fact they're more spacious than others, since the seats are a bit thinner...gives more leg room.

We fly at least 2-3 times a year. Where I won't fly Allegiant again and you dislike Southwest we love Southwest.

Think opinions are based on individual experience. If an airline only flies certain days and you aren't guaranteed to get out for several days- if you want to lose vacation time that's great. I don't want too!

Also what airline doesn't maintain the amount of oxygen they have!

You enjoy your travels and we will enjoy ours. I respect that you like Allegiant but I won't fly it again.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Allegiance has a few routes out of our airport (Orlando isn’t one of them). I used them to fly to Vegas once with no issues. Nothing fancy and they charge for basically everything.

I didn’t really care who I sat next since it is only an hour flight from Boise so i didn’t pay extra for seat assignment. I shared a checked bag with the person I was flying with and used a backpack for my free under the seat personal item and we had enough room to pack for the 4 days we were there. Brought snacks on the plane and filled up a water bottle after security so didn’t pay for any on board food. Total flight came to $125 pp rt.

However, I know people who have run into major issues with them. They only fly a couple days a week and if the flight isn’t full enough they will cancel it last minute...leaving you possibly stranded. Both groups I know that ran into this problem had a horrible time getting their money back and it took months and multiple phone calls before it was resolved. Due to this I haven’t bothered flying with them again.

 

[manning]

We used to like Allegiant. We've not flown into Florida but from Indiana to Arizona. We flew a few times with no issues until December 2017. My 21 year old was flying to see my parents. This was NOT weather related in any way! I can't stress that enough. Long story short there was an issue with an oxygen tank needing to be filled. An hour after the plane was to leave and after boarding everyone they told them there was no oxygen at the Indianapolis airport and they had to DRIVE to Cincinnati to get it. The plane left 6 hours late! The put them on and off the flight 3 times. It was a flight leaving at night so the restaurants and things closed. There were excuses, etc. Cincinnati is 2 hours from Indianapolis.

A thing to remember is Allegiant in many markets flies only certain days. If your flight is canceled you won't fly out until the next day they fly (which most likely isn't the next day). My husband had a coworker who had a change of planes by Allegiant. It went from 3/3 to 2/3 so ALL the middle seat people on the one side including him didn't get to leave that day. It was oh well by Allegiant. They don't work with legacy airlines to get you on a flight.

Seats horribly uncomfortable - hard molded plastic that don't recline. My back and rear were a mess from the uncomfortable angle. Read the safety issues on Allegiant.

Positives we did not have any issues until my son. The flight attendants were always nice. We landed safely but will never ever fly Allegiant.

My aunt was half way thru flight when a malfunction light came on. They made a u-turn and went back to origin

 

[kydisneyfans]

We are finding it to be a cheaper total ticket/cost to fly SW into Tampa than taking Allegiant into Sanford. Too much risk with Allegiant with canceled/delayed flights.

 

[seasheller]

If Allegiant cannot fly they will not find seats for you on another airline. You wait until the plane is fixed or another one brought in. Check out their safety record before you fly.

 

[MillauFr]

I'm tempted to try Allegiant sometime. I got hung up irrationally on one of their top executives (CEO? Not sure) coming from ValuJet. It made me uncomfortable. I just need to get over it!

Not irrational at all. Their CEO came from ValuJet. When Allegiant has a fatal accident the CEO will do the same thing he did last time. Just start a new airline. Their own mechanics refuse to let their own families fly on the planes. They do not have a culture of safety. They have by far the highest rate of aborted landings and mechanical failures.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Not irrational at all. Their CEO came from ValuJet. When Allegiant has a fatal accident the CEO will do the same thing he did last time. Just start a new airline. Their own mechanics refuse to let their own families fly on the planes. They do not have a culture of safety. They have by far the highest rate of aborted landings and mechanical failures.

Ok well that pretty much sealed the deal. I appreciate the honesty and you keeping our families safe by the confirmation of this post.