Allegiant Air??

[dutch_girl_scout]

I am a second-time traveler and am wondering about Allegiant Air. We, a family of four, are flying down in December for a couple days at WDW before boarding our cruise. Allegiant is the only airline that offers non-stop flights from Des Moines, IA to Orlando (Sanford Airport). The fares are almost to good to be true ($89/person per way). The catch? They don't release the fares for December until June. What do you think I should do:

1. Take for granted that Allegiant will keep their current schedule and fares, and wait until June to book my air

2. Should I book my air through Disney

3. Do I book my air now through another airline at $243 per person

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[bicker]

#1 is flawed, because it includes the bit about taking for granted that an airline will keep their current schedule and fares. Even if Allegiant didn't recently abandon service to certain cities, that would be a bad assumption.

 

[topflyer]

I flew on Allegiant back in December and had a very nice experience.

Flew out of Rockford, IL, to Vegas. On time, leather seats, clean restrooms, big plane. Nice to take a real airliner from a small(er) town. They charged extra for drinks but I only drank one water and why do I want to share the cost with the guy across the aisle who drank four Cokes!? Even tho there were a few extra things to pay for (bags, assigned seats) I made out over $120.00 on airfare between my wife and I, and saved the 1 hour drive and hassle to Chicago O'hare.

We also combined our airfare with a hotel package and we saved a lot more.

If you are going to worry about "assumptions" like Allegiant pulling out of Des Moines then you might as well worry about nuclear war.

 

[sammielynn]

I have booked flights with them for May from Cahttanooga TN to Stanford. The price was great $39 one way. Since they are the new guy on the block they have very low prices now. They could be introductory prices and could go higher later on. That said I think they would be worth the wait. Try and call them and see what they say about prices down the pike. The worst they can say is "I don't know".

 

[tinksmomce]

Since you wouldn't be flying into MCO, do you have to arrainge your own transportation to Disney resorts instead of using Disney's Magic Express transportation?

 

[Spart02]

We are also looking for airfare out of Des Moines for December. I'm ready to book airfare now, and don't want to wait much longer on Allegiant to post their schedule. One choice we were looking at is flying out of Kansas City through Midwest Air. That is a direct flight, which will be much easier for us since we will have a very large group and quite a few kids traveling with us.
We have travelled by Allegiant Air before and been happy with their service, although now it looks like they are charging more fees than ever before. A charge of $2 per bag per segment, etc.
Good luck!

 

[minnierocks]

Since you wouldn't be flying into MCO, do you have to arrainge your own transportation to Disney resorts instead of using Disney's Magic Express transportation?

Yes...you would have to get yourself to the resort...
ME only runs from MCO.
But make sure that you run the numbers. The fares from Allegiant are SUPER cheap, so you may still save $$ flying into Sanford and renting a car.

 

[jenseib]

I am flyingout of Toledo,OH on Allegiant in March. I've never flown with them, but they are not "cheap" But it is closer than going to Detroit. We are actually paying over $100 more for the convenience. (total for 3 people) But we will have to rent a car or catch some kind of a shuttle. Still looking into that, but it is costing us much more.
Our charges were, 109 for the trip down and 79 back, but....we had $4 a person for baggage, $11 per person each way for seat choice, not required, but I have a baby, so don't want them messing with us and splitting us up, and then there is a $7.50 convenience charge, plus taxes. So it ended up being like $260 a person roundtrip. I could've went out of Detroit for 205 a person and had free transportation to Disney as well. But my DH hates driving an hour to an airport and we live 15 minutes away from Toledo.

I'm glad to hear they are decnt planes.

 

[minnierocks]

I am flyingout of Toledo,OH on Allegiant in March. I've never flown with them, but they are not "cheap" But it is closer than going to Detroit. We are actually paying over $100 more for the convenience. (total for 3 people) But we will have to rent a car or catch some kind of a shuttle. Still looking into that, but it is costing us much more.
Our charges were, 109 for the trip down and 79 back, but....we had $4 a person for baggage, $11 per person each way for seat choice, not required, but I have a baby, so don't want them messing with us and splitting us up, and then there is a $7.50 convenience charge, plus taxes. So it ended up being like $260 a person roundtrip. I could've went out of Detroit for 205 a person and had free transportation to Disney as well. But my DH hates driving an hour to an airport and we live 15 minutes away from Toledo.

I'm glad to hear they are decnt planes.

That's why I said run the numbers
For where we are, Allegiant is much cheaper than anything going out of CAK or CLE right now...
Good luck!

 

[Honeymooners1021]

I considered Al when we booked our trip from Des Moines to Orlando and the rates are good but.....

- You have to arrange your own travel (unless you are renting a car then not such a big deal)
- The flight times when they do actually come out are very limited. They only fly from Orlando to Des Moines on certain days and at certain times.
(if you are flexible not a big deal)

We are flying from Des Moines to MCO on Saturday. We are flying on Delta and we paid $236 per person for round-trip. I

 

[MickeyEars]

Like sammielynn posted above we are flying out of Chattanooga in May for $39 each way. The total for the three of us was $331.40 but I did not pay the extra for pre-assigned seats. My boys are 17 and 14 so I didn't feel the need. The total above did include 5 checked bags. I was thrilled with the price since everything else I had priced was going to be $300 roundtrip for each of us. I have reserved a car with Dollar for the trip to Disney returning it to the Grosvenor Resort at Downtown Disney after picking up a few things at the grocery and unloading our luggage at All-Star Sports. Then I will pick up a car back at the Grosvenor Resort the night before we fly out returning it at the Sanford airport the morning of our flight. I think I'm spending a little less than $50 for the car for the two days so I'm just a happy camper all the way around!!!

Carla

 

[Mskanga]

You can also rent from national in sanford airport and return and pick up again at the Swan resort , this is what we did two weeks ago and it worked out really good.

 

[auburnldy]

I also live in Toledo. I had been comparing prices for a while now. When you fly out of detroit you pay alot of money to park. the cheapest I found had been 10 a day, so that needed to taken into concideration. If you live close to Toledo Express, it may be easy to get a ride and be dropped off...that way saving money on parking. My biggest issue with flying Algiant was you landing in Sanford and having to rent a car. For the different price you have to pay for that....it turned out cheaper for me to fly out of Detroit.

Jane--leaving Sat from Detroit on SouthWest--$45.58 each way--before all the silly taxes)

 

[roryc]

I just returned from Sanford SFB last night to Fayetteville, NC on Allegiant Air and it was a great experience. This is the third time I've flown Allegiant. I will now definitely not book until about a month in advance, and then I'll only book on a weekend (that's when they run their specials). I booked one flight 4 months in advance and ended up spending $70 more per person than if I'd have waited.

I would suggest you watch the air and see what the trend is.

We rented from Alamo at SFB and got a full size SUV for $33.95. Total for 4 days with taxes, fees and everything else they think of to charge was $171. I thought that was very fair and we did use the car to go to Sea World in addition to the commuting to/from SFB.

The planes are very nice and not run down at all. They do charge for everything including checked luggage, seat assignments (don't pay for it) and drinks/snacks. But I don't mind. I do not pay for seat assignments. I was traveling this trip with my husband and 2 daughters (4 and 19 months) and we never had a problem getting all 3 seats together). The plane was only 1/3 to 1/2 full on both legs. If I had prepaid the $11/pp per leg, it would have been an additional $66 dollars. (My 19 month old was a lap child so she was free)

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[jenseib]

I also live in Toledo. I had been comparing prices for a while now. When you fly out of detroit you pay alot of money to park. the cheapest I found had been 10 a day, so that needed to taken into concideration. If you live close to Toledo Express, it may be easy to get a ride and be dropped off...that way saving money on parking. My biggest issue with flying Algiant was you landing in Sanford and having to rent a car. For the different price you have to pay for that....it turned out cheaper for me to fly out of Detroit.

Jane--leaving Sat from Detroit on SouthWest--$45.58 each way--before all the silly taxes)

I actually live in Swanton. The Detroit Airport website says parking is 8-10 dollars a day. It would be there for 5 days, so max of 50 bucks for parking. I don't think that is expensive at all. But DH just doesn't want to drive up there. And we can get dropped off at the Toledo airport, so thats no problem. I did get a rental for 155.00 . It's funny because he is so chaep, but then on things like this he doesn't care. I called all over to get the cheapest price on our package, and then it was like wasted effort, because in the end, it didn't matter. I guess it's jsut getting him used to the prices. Heck, I should've went for an extra day then. LOL!

 

[djm99]

Right now all their summer flights thru the first week of August is $79 each way. I called yesterday to see if I can get a group rate but my return date of August 12 is still not available, but I'm told it will be next week. Anyway the total price with all the fees is only $174.60. Since it is 10 of us Allegiant will give us a $10 each way break ($69 each way) and we only have to put $50 down per ticket, which goes towards your balance (not an in addition too, like most airlines). The remaining balance is NOT due until early June.

I found a company that will pick us up in a 10 passenger van roundtrip for only $220. The price includes a 30 minute grocery store stop, free car seat, etc. This is a total of 4 families (just women and kids). We all divide the $220 (paying $55 each). Now look at it like this $160 per ticket and add $55 per family not ticket and I come out better than the average airfare today. No rental company to deal with, no gas to fill up, etc. It will hopefully be a stress free week.

The only bad thing about Allegiant is how late we fly into Sanford - 9:25pm - it will be nearly 11pm before we are actually in our Disney hotel room. And we have to pay the first night without any daytime play.

 

[MickeyEars]

roryc~
I just wanted to ask you about the seating assignments as I too did not pay for the pre-assigned seats for our upcoming May trip. I'm not paying $66 if I don't have to. I'd rather spend that money shopping at Downtown Disney!!! As far as you could tell, do they try to seat parties together? Are none of the seats assigned prior to check-in? My boys are 17 and 14 so we'll be fine if we're not together but I would "rather" sit together if possible. Since there are three of us the 3 across rows of seats would work out great for us. I paid $331.40 total (including 5 checked bags) for the three of us so I really can't complain but I can't stand not knowing how everything works!!
If you had paid the extra money for the pre-assigned seats and the plane was only 1/3 to 1/2 full would you not have blown up? I sure would have!!!

We have always flown Delta so this Allegiant Air stuff is all new to me. Any info at all on how the seating works would be most appreciated!!!

Thanks!
Carla

 

[PlutosMom]

Dutch girl scout and Spart02, I live in the great state of Iowa, too! I have monitored Allegiant Air (out of DSM) since they opened this route, as we go to WDW 2-3 times a year and every December. We have used them several times with no complaints at all. I'll offer these comments for consideration:

If your traveling group must sit together, then prior posters have it right: add $10 to each flight. We don't spend that $10, but our kids are 19 and 21. We have always been seated together anyway - we check in at the Allegiant gate when it opens to increase our chances of being seated togeher. There apparently is a new "bag/segment" charge noted above (I've not experienced it yet) that must be added in.

If you fly into Sandford (SFB) regardless of whether you stay at a WDW resort or you stay off-property, you'll need to add in car rental or transportation from SFB to WDW if you fly Allegiant. Rental cars have generally increased in costs in the last year. Use the mousesavers website and their car rental page for tips and savings. You'll have about $8-10.00 in gas costs (assuming just SFB to WDW and back) if car renting.

If you fly into MCO AND you stay on WDW property, you can use Magical Express transportation - for free! We've done this too, with great success, too. You won't have transportation costs.

In monitoring Allegiant out of DSM, they typically release fares between $99 - $109, then after release they will start to lower them (calling them a "sale"), frequently down to $79. Then as the plane fills they start to increase the prices back up. Their fares over holiday weeks is extremely expensive. For other airlines out of DSM to MCO, I have accepted that $250 is the baseline rate. Anything cheaper is a good deal, much over it I really hesitate.

This should give you a good picture of how to compare Allegiant with other carriers costs. That said the most important factor in your situation is the exact days in December you're travelling. You'll see prices quickly increase for dates after 12/15 for all carriers. For the last 2 Decembers, Allegiant held their $79/89 rates for most of their traveling days prior to 12/15. Of course, it's a crystal ball what will happen this December.

I hope this has helped some. Enjoy your December trip!!!

 

[roryc]

roryc~
I just wanted to ask you about the seating assignments as I too did not pay for the pre-assigned seats for our upcoming May trip. I'm not paying $66 if I don't have to. I'd rather spend that money shopping at Downtown Disney!!! As far as you could tell, do they try to seat parties together? Are none of the seats assigned prior to check-in? My boys are 17 and 14 so we'll be fine if we're not together but I would "rather" sit together if possible. Since there are three of us the 3 across rows of seats would work out great for us. I paid $331.40 total (including 5 checked bags) for the three of us so I really can't complain but I can't stand not knowing how everything works!!
If you had paid the extra money for the pre-assigned seats and the plane was only 1/3 to 1/2 full would you not have blown up? I sure would have!!!

We have always flown Delta so this Allegiant Air stuff is all new to me. Any info at all on how the seating works would be most appreciated!!!

Thanks!
Carla

Carla, the FAY to SFB route only started in Sept 06, so I'm fairly confident that not too many people know about it yet. I'm not sure how full your route might be. You can be sneaky and pretend to book online again using bogus names and see how full the flight actually is. You can see prior to actually entering your credit card. I don't want to give you bad advice for your route, but even with my 4yo and 19mo I was willing to chance it and it was absolutely no problem. Our plane had 2 seats on the left and 3 on the right so the 3 combo worked out perfectly for our family of 4 (1 lap child).

The only bummer was coming back my husband was selected to have the full security search done. I thought this was bad because it meant my having to go through security with 2 young children and lots of junk, get their shoes off and on, through the gate...all without the help of my husband. I'm sure it was predetermined, but it was still a bit off-putting.

Yes, I would have been furious if I had paid the $66 on our flights because there was no one in front of us or behind us on either flight (again, 3 seats across each).

A bit of advice is that I've rented from Dollar and Alamo. Alamo we got the better deal, but it was a bit further to hoof with 6 bags and 2 young kids. Dollar is a tad bit closer. I'd say go with the better deal if it's significant. Otherwise, use Dollar or Thrifty as they're closer. FYI...FWIW. Again, it's a small airport, so "further" is relative. Even the Alamo counter, you can see from baggage claim (probably 400-500 yards).

 

[jenseib]

Al lyou have to do is enter in your info and it will show you how many seats are still available. Just don't go to the enxt step of adding your credit card till you are ready. I did this several times and our flight went UP in price while I waited. We did pay 66 for the seats. But our plane was about 3/4 full already. WE NEED to be togther. If i had my older kids then it wouldn't matter so much, though they might complain.

I found the best deal at Dollar myself. Alamo was about 30 dollars more. But I still keep checking here and there. Thrifty has bad reviews om Mousesavers I beleive, so I wouldn't go with them. You could dobule check to be sure, since I'm not positive.