Allegiant Air?

[kellia]

I saw others getting really good deals on Allegiant air. We are a couple of hours from Toledo, OH or Grand Rapids, MI where they fly out of, so I was wondering if it might be worth the drive.

When do they have their really low rates, when they are first posted? If so, when do they add their new dates? Any idea when Feb would be out? We would like to go somewhere Dec-Feb, whenever we can get cheap enough tickets for all of us to go.

Thanks for any advice anyone can give us!

 

[Reagan&Co.]

I have never seen Allegiant Air flights on priceline, kayak, etc.
I access them thru their website, www.allegiantair.com. It is fairly user friendly to check dates and prices on.
If you book, be aware of hidden fees for priority seating, priority boarding, and baggage.
They charge $15 if you book online or by phone. They waive this fee if you buy yout tix at the airport counter.

Good luck! We just bought ours two days agao for $30 each!

 

[Snow Shoe]

We've never used them, but they fly a very limited schduel out of Shreveport. They fly on only certain days of the week, three I beleive, from SHV to MCO. My question is, what happens if your flight going to Orlando or coming home is cancled, and the next service to where your going is several days later?

 

[Reagan&Co.]

We've never used them, but they fly a very limited schduel out of Shreveport. They fly on only certain days of the week, three I beleive, from SHV to MCO. My question is, what happens if your flight going to Orlando or coming home is cancled, and the next service to where your going is several days later?

I don't know what happens in this case, but I bet it's messy.....

They seem to fly out of the smaller airports (MCO being the new exception), so I think most of their schedules are limited. I really don't know.....if the plane broke, my guess is that they would just bring another one in and have a delay. To totally cancel a flight would REALLY upset the people with non-refundable car rentals, hotel reservation, important plans, etc.....I don't think many people would have the luxery of waiting a few days for the next flight out.

 

[kellia]

I have never seen Allegiant Air flights on priceline, kayak, etc.
I access them thru their website, www.allegiantair.com. It is fairly user friendly to check dates and prices on.
If you book, be aware of hidden fees for priority seating, priority boarding, and baggage.
They charge $15 if you book online or by phone. They waive this fee if you buy yout tix at the airport counter.

Good luck! We just bought ours two days agao for $30 each!

Wow- $30?? Is that each way? Can I ask what the total would be with all the fees added on?

That was also a good question about what happens if the flight gets cancelled. Especially since we live in Mich and want to go Dec-Feb! I could deal with getting stuck in Fl, not so happy if we were stuck in Mich!

 

[kellia]

Oh, I have seen that you don't always get MCO airport, you might be going to Sanford. Is it that far away? We can just get a rental car there, right?

 

[nytimez]

All airlines have fees these days... but Allegiant takes it to a new level. They're insane with fees.

 

[Reagan&Co.]

Oh, I have seen that you don't always get MCO airport, you might be going to Sanford. Is it that far away? We can just get a rental car there, right?

Say what??????!!!!

Then they had better DRIVE me to MCO to pick up my reantal car!!!

The Allegiant website, if I read it correctly, states that they now fly into MCO. Where did you hear that? Yikes...

 

[Reagan&Co.]

Wow- $30?? Is that each way? Can I ask what the total would be with all the fees added on?

That was also a good question about what happens if the flight gets cancelled. Especially since we live in Mich and want to go Dec-Feb! I could deal with getting stuck in Fl, not so happy if we were stuck in Mich!

We leave from TRI in Tennessee. I have seen flights as low as $9.90. Anyway, here is a breakdown:
$30 each way @ 4 people= $240
Segment fees @4 people= $30
PFC= $36
911 Security= $20
Convenience fee (booking online)@4= $60
TOTAL= $385
Still under $100 per person, but I would have liked to have gone to the airport to buy the tickets and saved the $60. The rest of the fees are pretty much mandatory.

 

[mapmakerj]

Say what??????!!!!

Then they had better DRIVE me to MCO to pick up my reantal car!!!

The Allegiant website, if I read it correctly, states that they now fly into MCO. Where did you hear that? Yikes...

Allegiant had been flying into Sanford from most of their departure cities for a while now. They recently switched several of those cities to arrivals at MCO instead. Your airport is one of those that does actually go into MCO so everything is good for your trip. However, flights from my local airport still route to Sanford.

 

[leeseem]

Is anyone else thinking once the "Buy One Get one Free" offer is over tonight Allegiant airfare might come down? I'm thinking it is high due to the fact you are getting BOGO?

 

[marius97]

We leave from TRI in Tennessee. I have seen flights as low as $9.90. Anyway, here is a breakdown:
$30 each way @ 4 people= $240
Segment fees @4 people= $30
PFC= $36
911 Security= $20
Convenience fee (booking online)@4= $60
TOTAL= $385
Still under $100 per person, but I would have liked to have gone to the airport to buy the tickets and saved the $60. The rest of the fees are pretty much mandatory.

All airlines have fees now like 9/11 security, segement fees, etc. Where Allegiant gets you is with fees to select your seat, priority boarding, premium seats, etc. I haven't flown them lately, so I can't say how much they are now, but they are all fees you don't have to pay if you don't select them (or unselect the box in some cases.)

 

[DebbieB]

I don't know what happens in this case, but I bet it's messy.....

They seem to fly out of the smaller airports (MCO being the new exception), so I think most of their schedules are limited. I really don't know.....if the plane broke, my guess is that they would just bring another one in and have a delay. To totally cancel a flight would REALLY upset the people with non-refundable car rentals, hotel reservation, important plans, etc.....I don't think many people would have the luxery of waiting a few days for the next flight out.

The problem with small airlines is that they don't have extra planes sitting around. They don't have other planes coming in that they could switch out if you are at an airport with limited servcie. Most likely there would be a delay while they fix the airplane or wait until weather to clear.

Anytime a flight is cancelled it will upset the people with plans at their destination. But it happens all the time with all airlines.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

The problem with small airlines is that they don't have extra planes sitting around. They don't have other planes coming in that they could switch out if you are at an airport with limited servcie. Most likely there would be a delay while they fix the airplane or wait until weather to clear.

Anytime a flight is cancelled it will upset the people with plans at their destination. But it happens all the time with all airlines.

Add to the fact they don't have agreements with other airlines in most cases to rebook people on alternative flights, so you could be stuck. It's a weighed risk IMO.

 

[TaraPA]

If Allegiant cancels your flight & there isn't another one for days, unfortunately you are stuck, unless you choose to pay for your own ticket on another airline. There was a post on here in the last few months where this happened to someone. Allegiant is under no obligation other than to get you from point A to point B - so if they have no other flights scheduled, it's not their responsibility to get you on another one. Frustrating - yes - it's a risk we all take when booking small airlines out of small airports. It happens with the major airlines these days too. Happened to us with Continental. They did have more flights leaving the same day but they were booked solid.

We've gotten the $19.99 fares on Allegiant - came to about $55 per ticket after fees. Be aware that you have to UN-check the fee boxes on the website when booking or they are automatically added (seat assignment, priority boarding, baggage, etc.) There's no getting around the $15 pp fee for booking online unless you go to the airport. Be awre, though, that Allegiant is famous for changing fares several times a day - if your fare changes til you get to the airport you're out of luck. Also, at our small airport anyway, they are only there to book tickets when they have a flight coming or going - which for us is only 4 days a week, once a day. Very small window of opportunity for us.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

It happens with the major airlines these days too. Happened to us with Continental. They did have more flights leaving the same day but they were booked solid.

But if it happens to one of the major carriers, they can often move people to other airlines/flights where there is capacity due to cross sharing agreements. Now if it the last flight or near it of the day you're leaving or if there is something (ie. weather) creating flight problems at the airport, sure, you'll be stuck, but there are no other options. Smaller airlines typically don't have the cross share agreements so they cannot rebook you on another airline that may have capacity.

 

[lathamary]

I flew Allegiant into and out of Orlando/Sanford last August, and I loved it. Unbeatable rates and great service. Flying into Sanford instead of MCO is kind of a bummer, but Sanford is a lovely little airport, and much less stressful than MCO! Security takes about 10 minutes at small airports, as opposed to standing in line for over an hour at a large airport.

The Sanford airport is about 30 miles from Disney World. Magical Express doesn't go there, but IMO they should

 

[kristenrice]

There was a "big" news story last year around the holidays (Thanksgiving or Christmas, can't remember which) when an Allegiant flight from Grand Rapids was cancelled and a LOT of people got stranded. At that time (and maybe even now) they only flew ONE flight a day and that was only TWO days a week....Friday and Tuesday. So, when the friday flight was cancelled, people were stuck until at least tuesday, and that was only IF there were still seats available on that flight. It all amounted to a BIG mess.

After that, I told my DH that I would never fly on an airline with only one flight per day from our airport. I'll drive the two hours to Detroit so that I have a lot more options if a delay occurs.

 

[Lindabelle]

We are flying from Grand Rapids to Orlando on Allegiant this July. The Chicago flights were too expensive. We needed to drive to Grand Rapids to drop our dog with my parents anyway, and it is saving us a ton of money. My mom flew on them last summer and didn't have any problems. I hope it works out well.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I flew Allegiant into and out of Orlando/Sanford last August, and I loved it.

It's easy to "love it" when everything goes at it's supposed to.

The question is, what happens when things don't go as they're supposed to?

If a flight has to be cancelled for any reason, I'd rather deal with an airline that has frequent service (like Southwest) or a legacy carrier with interline agreements. There's much better chance of getting to your destination on the same day.