Allegiant Air Reviewed: Pros, Cons, Tips
By Don Nadeau, on November 19, 2009, in Airfares, Travel, Vacation Packages
This post gives the pros and cons of Allegiant Airlines to help you decide whether or not to use it. You will also find helpful tips for traveling on Allegiant Air.
Allegiant’s robust finances
At least in the short term, one thing you probably do not have to worry about is Allegiant going out of business before your trip.
Allegiant Airlines, actually Allegiant Travel Company, attracts considerable attention by making big bucks in this down economy, while providing low fares on nonstop routes nearly never served by other airlines.
Allegiant profits in spite of its rock bottom fares (as low as $9 each way LAX to Monterey last summer) by aggressively pushing hotel and car rental packages on its website and by charging fees above its fares that must make other airlines salivate.
How Allegiant operates
Allegiant considers itself a package vacation company, not an airline in the way we usually think of them.
This is a company that thinks deeply about what it does. From selecting viable routes and airports ignored by other airlines to flying only on days of high customer demand, Allegiant maximizes its revenue. In fact, the airline virtually shuts down on Tuesdays, as it sees so little demand for flights that day.
Frankly, Allegiant serves communities that should have been served by Southwest Airlines long ago, but Southwest stubbornly sticks to a rigid formula of adding only new airports that have potential for flights all day, all week long.
On the other hand, Allegiant seems perfectly willing to hire part-time people, in order to serve an airport for as little as once a day several times a week. Based on the money it makes, this has proven to be viable business model.
LAX service
Allegiant looks for opportunities, even when they don’t fit its usual operating patterns.
When told that a lot of its customers in Las Vegas were racking up rental car mileages way beyond normal, Allegiant found that many of these people were using its cheap airfares to Vegas to access Southern California. Research showed what airports these people were coming from and what airport in California would best serve them.
Not known for flying into incredibly busy airports like LAX, Allegiant does now!
The pros – reasons to use Allegiant
The fares!
Remarkably low priced tickets come especially easily if you are flexible about dates and can avoid the high fees for checking bags ($35 each if pay at the airport) and for advance seat selection and priority boarding.
However, even with its fees, Allegiant’s total cost can be a remarkable value.
Allegiant’s policy says fill every plane. To do this, it lowers fares as necessary to often astonishing levels knowing it will make money via its aggressive fees and car rental and hotel sales. Besides, after a certain point, Allegiant has already broken even on a trip and these additional sales are nearly pure profit.
One-way tickets. Like JetBlue and Southwest, you are not penalized for buying one-way tickets on Allegiant. This gives the added flexibility that many people wish.
The service. In my experience so far, Allegiant employees have been unfailingly excellent, cheerful, and professional. I’ve flown with Allegiant into and out of six airports with no problems.
I’ve also talked with many Allegiant Air customers, who’ve reported no unusual concerns other than the online booking fee described below.
The comfortable leather seats. These do not recline, which gives extra legroom and makes using a laptop easier. Because Allegiant offers no “redeye” flights, lack of recline should present no problem.
Nonstop flights. You don’t connect through “hubs” on Allegiant Air. See its route map. Allegiant serves cities that haven’t seen nonstop service to Arizona, California, and Florida for years, if ever, and customers love this.
Note: If you book a connection, you’re on your own. You must reserve and pay for each sector separately. Allegiant will not be responsible if you miss your connection. It’s best to overnight in Las Vegas or another connecting city if you want to connect.
Cons – things you should know
Think of Allegiant as a charter airline. Its flights are scheduled, but it acts as a charter.
That means, for example, that you have to allow extra check in time if you have not printed a boarding pass online or have bags to check. Check in takes time, as Allegiant seems to allot fewer counter agents than some other airlines and fewer passengers show up with boarding passes already printed elsewhere.
Flight delays
As with most charter flights and airlines like Southwest, if there is a mechanical problem, you will NOT be put on another airline. You will wait for the problem to be fixed or for Allegiant to send another plane—even if you are in Grand Rapids and that plane is in Las Vegas.
As a result, Allegiant may not be the airline to take when you have tightly scheduled vital business meetings or a cruise ship to catch.
The fees.
These are really in your face. Allegiant builds its profitability on high fees.
Free water? Ha! Free coffee? You must be joking. Instead, you’ll be offered bottled water for $2.00 or a coffee-like drink for around $4.00 (I believe).
On some flights, you can even pay a fee to enter a raffle.
The winner gets half the proceeds ($135 on my last flight), a few runners up receive prizes like beach towels and bags, and—guess whom?—Allegiant gets the rest. As those bags don’t come from Gucci, that residual money adds up.
Checked bag fee
Checked bags set you back $35 each (less if purchased online).
Advanced seat selection fee
Choosing a specific seat usually costs $11.00 to 14.00.
Note: Only passengers who have paid the pre-selected seat fee may use online check-in and print a boarding pass before arriving at the airport.
Already having a boarding pass cuts the check-in time needed, if you have no luggage to check, as you can go directly to security and the gate. (You’ll need to ask someone what gate, though, before proceeding through security.)
Because Allegiant seats are configured two by three, with no more than a one in five chance that you’ll get a middle seat, you may wish to take your chances by not paying for advance seat selection.
Priority boarding fee
Although you can pay the optional priority-boarding fee only if you’ve paid for seat selection, priority boarding may be well worth it.
Priority boarding gives you first crack at the overhead bins.
This cuts the chance that there’ll be no room for a somewhat larger than normal carry on, resulting in a $35 checked bag fee.
Online booking fee
Paying extra to reserve online is Allegiant’s most controversial fee. After all, you are paying to use a procedure that saves the airline money!
Frankly, I believe that the online booking fee is a stupid policy—in contrast to so much at Allegiant that is so well thought out. Why have something that attracts so much negative attention and so many unfavorable customer comments?
How many customers will Allegiant lose if it nixes the fee and adds $7.00 to 10.00 to its usually already low fares?
At a conference, I listened to Ponder Harrison, Allegiant’s good-humored Managing Director – Sales and Marketing at the time, defending the fee by saying that you can always make your reservations at an airport to avoid it, but that dog doesn’t hunt.
Allegiant car rentals
Note that several of Allegiant’s busiest airports like Mesa Gateway near Phoenix lack the car rental competition you’ll find at the main airports used by other airlines in these cities. That can make prices higher. Also, the hours some companies are open may be limited.
If you book through Allegiant, normally cancellable car rental reservations become non refundable.
Allegiant hotels
Again, hotels booked through Allegiant become nonrefundable. Make sure the savings are worth it when compared to Hotels.com and to other sites that usually have more liberal cancellation policies.
Customer service
Allegiant does not provide a toll-free number for either reservations or customer service. You can call 1-702-505-8888.
Or, you can present customer service issues to Allegiant’s Twitter account at @allegiantair. Recently, an answer came within moments.
@allegiantair is a good place to keep up-to-date on new routes and specials. Loyal customers are always suggesting new routes.
In conclusion
Overall, passengers love Allegiant Air. Other than its online booking fee, I certainly like this airline. Of course, I don’t travel with several checked bags that can add up to as much as $140.00 extra in fees each trip.
Just be aware that you are not dealing with a traditional airline and keep in mind the cautions and tips above.
