BEWARE of Allegiant Air....

[nasmith]

I was booked to fly from PHF to Orlando (Sanford) on Allegiant Air from Nov. 2 to Nov. 7th.
I had prebooked a car via priceline (nonrefundable) and a hotel (nonrefundable) as well as a F & W dinner (nonrefundable)......Today, Allegiant notified me that the Nov. 7th flight had been changed to Nov. 9th!
I Cannot return two days later, and I think it irresponsible that the airline believes that a 2 day change wouldn't impact me.
I have now booked a US airways flight that will get me back on the 7th (at an out-of-pocket expense of $400, however I still need to figure out how to get from Sanford (where we are arriving and picking up the rental car) to MCO ( where we are departing) (I'm sure that will be an additional expense).

When I called Allegiant to request a refund for the portion of a flight they cancelled, I asked that they give me two carry-on bags (the fees, not the bags) for my return flight to compensate me for my time in fixing this fiasco---- and I was told "NO" (this was a total of $26 credit). It is against their policy - moreover, there isn't a supervisor I could speak to...I was told to write a letter to their customer relations department. There isn't even an e-mail to contact anybody - only snail mail. Unbelieavble. I am so upset about this I am sick to my stomach. My "budget" vacation is no longer so budget.

If anyone has had to deal with anything like this and has any suggestions - I would appreciated it......

Thanks for listening!

 

[DebbieB]

I was booked to fly from PHF to Orlando (Sanford) on Allegiant Air from Nov. 2 to Nov. 7th.
I had prebooked a car via priceline (nonrefundable) and a hotel (nonrefundable) as well as a F & W dinner (nonrefundable)......Today, Allegiant notified me that the Nov. 7th flight had been changed to Nov. 9th!
I Cannot return two days later, and I think it irresponsible that the airline believes that a 2 day change wouldn't impact me.
I have now booked a US airways flight that will get me back on the 7th (at an out-of-pocket expense of $400, however I still need to figure out how to get from Sanford (where we are arriving and picking up the rental car) to MCO ( where we are departing) (I'm sure that will be an additional expense).

When I called Allegiant to request a refund for the portion of a flight they cancelled, I asked that they give me two carry-on bags (the fees, not the bags) for my return flight to compensate me for my time in fixing this fiasco---- and I was told "NO" (this was a total of $26 credit). It is against their policy - moreover, there isn't a supervisor I could speak to...I was told to write a letter to their customer relations department. There isn't even an e-mail to contact anybody - only snail mail. Unbelieavble. I am so upset about this I am sick to my stomach. My "budget" vacation is no longer so budget.

If anyone has had to deal with anything like this and has any suggestions - I would appreciated it......

Thanks for listening!

Sorry to hear this. Thats the risk with these small airlines with limited schedules and no agreements with other airlines. Someone recently posted that her family of 5 was bumped off a Spirit flight 2 weeks in advance with no accomodations other than they could fly them from Tampa instead but no transportation from Orlando to Tampa.

 

[goofy4tink]

As already mentioned, this is a recurring issue with smaller airlines. They don't have multiple flights every day of the week like the bigger airlines do. So, if they have to cancel a flight, it could be days before another one is scheduled.

As far as getting reimbursed for your 'time', I doubt it. The airlines don't much care about that. You will get a refund but that's it. I know that when I booked DirectAir, from Worcester Ma, to Sanford, I planned accordingly. We had a cruise booked...so took flights that gave us wiggle room. If there was a last minute change, we could have hopped in the car and driven down..and still made the cruise.

So, another person learns the hard lesson of booking with the smaller airlines. Sorry you have had to go through this, but thanks for sharing with us. That way others can learn from your situation.

 

[wed100105]

I know your frustration. As mentioned, I highly doubt you get any additional compensation. I am a Facebook fan of Allegiant and sometimes they do respond to messages left on their site. The key word there is sometimes though!

My aunt traveled to Orlando for my cousin's softball tournament last spring. She was booked on Direct Air. She got down there, but the airline went under while she was there and she had no return flight at all.

We're flying Frontier and Allegiant this January and I'm a little nervous!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I have now booked a US airways flight that will get me back on the 7th (at an out-of-pocket expense of $400, however I still need to figure out how to get from Sanford (where we are arriving and picking up the rental car) to MCO ( where we are departing) (I'm sure that will be an additional expense).

First go online to your car rental reservation and see what effect changing your drop location to MCO on your departure day has on your price. then see what effect returning the car at/near Walt Disney World - either within 24 hours of renting it, or some time before the end of your trip has. If one or the other or both doesn't (dramatically) affect your rate, return the car where appropriate and if necessary use Magical Express to get to MCO.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I was booked to fly from PHF to Orlando (Sanford) on Allegiant Air from Nov. 2 to Nov. 7th.
I had prebooked a car via priceline (nonrefundable) and a hotel (nonrefundable) as well as a F & W dinner (nonrefundable)......Today, Allegiant notified me that the Nov. 7th flight had been changed to Nov. 9th!
I Cannot return two days later, and I think it irresponsible that the airline believes that a 2 day change wouldn't impact me.....

If anyone has had to deal with anything like this and has any suggestions - I would appreciated it......

Thanks for listening!

I understand your annoyance, but airlines change their schedules all the time. When the changes were made, I'm pretty sure airline employees were aware this would impact their passengers. However, they were simply looking after their bottom line.

Don't waste your time pursuing compensation for the time you spent resolving this. It's not going to happen.

 

[Greysword]

Sorry for your problems, great safety tip regarding Allegiant, and this is why I enjoy the legacy airlines over low-cost airlines. yes, I could save $100 or so, but if irregular operations hit, there is no safety net. At least all of the legacies play (fairly) nice with each other, and they won't always strand a passenger for several days.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

You book a discount carrier because they are cheap. The savings come from......customer service They know their passengers.