Anyone flown Allegiant before?

My wife, kids and parents are going to St. Pete in March. None are looking forward to the drive (11 hours plus stops with a baby in tow) but money is tight. My brother-in-laws family has flown Allegiant for Disney trips before and been good with it, but I have no first-hand knowledge. I get that they make up for the teaser fares by charging you for every bag, change fees and any other extras, but what am I missing? And is it worth it to book a hotel and rental from them as well, or do that separate?

 

I'm housesitting for some folks who took the airline to Arizona somewhere. They swear by it and took their dog with them.

Their flight out was postponed over 24 hours because of weather, though. There is only one flight out of here every few days, but when the storm hit, they did reschedule it instead of just canceling everything.

One of the guys I work with is flying to Arizona next month. He's done no bitching about any extras, so I'll take that as a a positive.

 

Yep, you'll pay for everything, even to choose a seat when you make your reservation. Expect the worst and if that doesn't materialize, you're ahead of the game. My wife flew RT between Florida and Indiana for something ridiculous, like $45 each way, so certainly it's a strong consideration if the bottom line is most important.

 

We use Allegiant for all our flights out to Orlando.

You get what you pay for, plain and simple. Nothing fancy about it but the price of the flight is usually enough to make up for it.

I wouldn't book your hotel/rental through them though.

 

Haven't flown them in a few years, but I don't think they offer 7-day service anywhere. Most fly to/from a city only 2-3 days per week, giving you much less flexibility on when you leave and when your flight comes back. And a flight departing from, say, Asheville, will only go to three destinations.

If you can put up with those inconveniences, you will likely get good value.

 

Anything is better than United.

 

Or Delta.

 

Or I-10 across the Panhandle.

 

The smaller airlines are typically so much better than the bigger airlines these days. The bigger airlines are charging for bags, most of the smaller ones are not. The smaller ones will actually feed you...

We flew a smaller airline to Disney last year. They gave us all sandwiches and drinks. We weren't charged for our bags. They showed us a movie, free of charge. The people who we met there had to pay for their bags and were nickel and dimed for everything...

I try to avoid United or Delta at all costs. These days whenever possible, the smaller airlines are the way to go...

 

Never had a problem with Allegiant. Yeah, you pay for everything but there are no surprises if you read the web site and know what you're getting into. I find that the attitude at Allegiant isn't as bitter or angry as Spirit. I hate Spirit, although I definitely get the allure of it for people who are able to basically fly with nothing on them.

 

Same experience I've had with Allegiant. Flown them probably 6-8 times, to Disney and Vegas, and they've been fine. As long as you know going in everything will be a little charge, which is more than made up for by their cheap airfare to begin with, you'll be fine.

 

Allegiant is the only airline that files directly from here to my wife's home town, so she's flown it a number of times and her mom uses it regularly. My wife has found Allegiant annoying as hell, but not enough to fly a different airline and change planes.

The fees seem to be designed to piss you off. I get the idea of offering a "low fare" and then drilling you with fees... but honestly, Allegiant is horribly overboard. They charge you a significant fee to book online or on the phone. To avoid the fee, you can book at their desk at the airport. As I recall, if was open from 3pm to 6pm, two days a week. My wife drove to the airport, stood about 20 deep in the line that never moved, and then drove home and booked by phone.

Also, they are always late, and usually by 90 minutes or more.

The service may be better in other cities, but our experiences have not been positive.