Definition: Allegiant – adjective, 1.loyal; faithful.
About Allegiant
Allegiant is a low-cost airline that prides themselves in their low overhead and direct flights.
On-Board Comfort
Allegiant is a lot like Spirit in the sense that they don’t offer in-flight luxuries aside from food and drink. The foot room is better (by a whole 2 inches) and the seats are comfy – though the seats do not recline.
Food/Drink
Allegiant offers plenty to eat and drink mid-flight. They are credit/debit card only – so please keep that in mind. They offer all the basic junk food snacks (cookies, candy, chips, soda) as well as some healthy options (hummus, juice, coffee, tea, deli snacks). For those of us who are at least 21 years old, alcoholic beverages are available too! YOu can choose from basic liquors (rum, whiskey, vodka), wine, and beer – with special selections on trips to Hawaii.
Entertainment/Internet Access
There are no TV’s or internet but they do allow you to bring your own devices to use in airplane mode. They do promptly request that you turn your devices to airplane mode.
Boarding/Passes
They offer a wide variety of options to obtain your boarding passes. You can print your passes at home, get them printed at the airport (for a fee), or use their cell phone app. I was fortunate enough to experience two of the 3 options. For both attempts to fly out of Cleveland, we printed our passes at home for free. Then, on the way home, we used the mobile app to show a QR code to board.
This was our first time using an app as a boarding pass. I know a lot of airlines are offering it as an option – and for convenience, it is a stellar option… but there are a few of us old fashioned folks that like saving our boarding passes as souvenirs.
Loyalty/Mileage Program
There’s not really a well-defined and advertised mileage program. It basically boils down to customers having to get the Allegiant World MasterCard and linking it to their online account. You spend with the card, you get points,Points get used towards Allegiant flights. Using the card is the ONLY way to get points. I’m hoping this is still under development.
Baggage
I was more impressed with baggage fees with Allegiant than other value airliners I’ve flown with in the past. Fees are a fraction of what we paid with Spirit. I believe we paid $19/way per person for one carry-on bag a piece. So about $80 in bags for two people total versus the $35/bag for a checked bag for one person with Spirit (it’s something like $45 for a carry-on bag) for one trip ($70 for one bag for one person for the entire trip). Allegiant baggage fees, though annoying, are much more reasonable.
Crew Review
Our crew down was fabulous despite a plane fully of agitated customers due to our flight being cancelled the day before. They remained positive and courteous and I tried my best to make their job easy by being positive and courteous to them. It’s not their fault the flight was cancelled!
We had some crew issues on the way back from Tampa to Cleveland. Our flight was delayed initially for mechanical issues but then we were delayed further because one of our crew members decided to take the day off and not tell anyone (I guess this happens in every profession…). So we waited while they tried to find someone nearby to come in on their day off, then we boarded and waited on the tarmac for one frazzled flight attendant. Poor girl had to come in on her day off and she took it in stride. We were all happy to see her and I hope that flight wasn’t a bad one for her. Other than that mishap, the crew on our return flight was polite and tried their hardest to keep us calm.
Pilot Review
Both sets of pilots we encountered were safe, communicated properly, and did their best to get us through delays and mechanical issues (there were A LOT of mechanical issues). They all reassured us that the plane was, in fact, safe to be flown and even did multiple inspections to ensure our safety.
Star Rating
Cost value is great. Crew is great (when they show up). Their rating is bumped down for lack of customer service, mechanical issues/delays with planes, and poor brand maintenance (examples, plane maintenance, customer service, streamlined website/loyalty program, social media presence, available routes, promotional programs, etc).
Tips
- Book early. This is a standard tip for any airline you book with.
- Have a relaxed schedule. More often than not, you WILL experience delays and even cancellations.
- If you do experience a cancellation, chances are you will hear that you will get compensated for it (vouchers, hotels, etc) but you WILL have to be consistent about contacting them. You will sit on hold and you will have to email them multiple times. It took me two months to get my and my husbands vouchers from our cancelled flight after 3 emails, dozens of phone calls (most not ever getting through and I got sick of sitting on hold), and Twitter/Facebook comments. Have all your info at the ready (save emails, etc. ) and be consistent.
- Don’t purchase seats if you don’t have to. It’s an extra cost and, to me, is silly unless you have special circumstances (medical needs, children, anxiety, etc.).
Contact Info
Their contact info is a bit hard to come by. It’s not readily available on their website (probably to keep angry calls down…but when there’s a will, there’s a way).
Phone: 1 (702) 505-8888
And on their website, you can contact them via email form submission/
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