Allegiant Air??

[ashleycrew]

Has anyone flown Allegiant air yet? It looks like a fairly new line which only goes to and from secondary airports. They do have a good number of cities they go to and from Orlando and St. Pete to/from. Usually one ways are either $39-$49 which is a great price. The downside is they go to Orlando Sanford airport instead of MCO and with a limited schedule you may have to come in a day or so early and leave a day or so later (maybe that is a plus- more time to hang out in Florida). Also how much time to get to Port Canaveral does Sanford airport add over MCO? Just curious if anyone has any feedback, these fares make the 3-4 nighters a lot more attractive and do-able a little more often.

[uksimonusa]

Has anyone flown Allegiant air yet? It looks like a fairly new line which only goes to and from secondary airports. They do have a good number of cities they go to and from Orlando and St. Pete to/from. Usually one ways are either $39-$49 which is a great price. The downside is they go to Orlando Sanford airport instead of MCO and with a limited schedule you may have to come in a day or so early and leave a day or so later (maybe that is a plus- more time to hang out in Florida). Also how much time to get to Port Canaveral does Sanford airport add over MCO? Just curious if anyone has any feedback, these fares make the 3-4 nighters a lot more attractive and do-able a little more often.

 

SAN is about 15 - 20 Mins further from PC than MCO is

[ashleycrew]

thanks for the info, So it looks like Sanford would be worth it for the money and if you were going to rent a car anyway.

[BarbCon]

I've flown Allegiant several time (Portsmouth, NH to/from Sanford, FL). It's great, always ontime, the airport is never crowded. I really like it... flying them next week actually!

[katiel53]

I wonder if Allegiant Air is the airline that used to be Southeast. They flew from Sanford to Biloxi and a few places up north. The problem was that with no notice they went bankrupt. I would be really hesistant making reservations with a startup airline.

 

We live in Florida and have only heard of this airline recently. Has it been in business a long time and just not flown down here?

 

 

Katie

[ashleycrew]

I wonder if Allegiant Air is the airline that used to be Southeast. They flew from Sanford to Biloxi and a few places up north. The problem was that with no notice they went bankrupt. I would be really hesistant making reservations with a startup airline.

 

We live in Florida and have only heard of this airline recently. Has it been in business a long time and just not flown down here?

 

 

Katie

 

Does not look like that is the case:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegiant_Air

 

looks like they went public last year

[skyking]

Allegiant is great...Good prices, and they are their own airline...They were not someone else before...Good choice in my opinion....Good luck!

[Autumnrose]

Allegiant Air is not a new airline. They have been around for about 10 years. We use them all the time in Colorado for clients that want to fly from Ft. Collins. I have not received any negative feedback from clients.

[onestar]

It is a good airline my mom is a Flight Attendant for them and the way that they get away with such low fares is nothing is free on the flight no free cokes or pretzels, but in my opinion I can either go without or pay the $2.00 charge if i'm that thirsty. Another thing you may want to check is I also think I heard my mom say they charge $2.00 for every piece of luggage you check? Not 100% sure of that one though. Still a great deal.

[sanditecruiser]

I have flown Alligient on chartered trips...actually just came back from on last Sunday. Harrah's casino's use them as a charter for their guests. The planes I have been on are nice, clean - they are large (MD 80's) with the seat configuration of 2 seats one side three on the other. On the charter flights they offer complimentary beverage service and beer/cocktails for $4 and pretzels. I would not hesitate to use them commercially. Hope this helps. Sanditecruiser

[newbeestl]

I've flown them as well and MUCH prefer them to the bigger airlines and bigger airports. They do charge for drinks and per bag for luggage but it's still better. You have to pay extra if you want assigned seats too.

[vesw01]

We fly them out of Rockford IL (small airport) instead of Chicago when going to the Orlando area. I love the Sanford airport - small, easy to get around - we are usually off the plane and in our car in 30 minutes. It is part way between Daytona and Orlando. Right off the highway easy to go in either direction.

 

Just make sure you have change on you, the Florida interstate system has a ton of tolls (I think they suggest $5.00 in quarters).

[xpcdoojk]

They offer a limited number of flights a week to Vegas, Tampa and Orlando where I live. We used them for a trip to Vegas last fall, and the flight was fine. They charge extra for everything, but they are generally very inexpensive. Would use them again, without reservation.

 

jc

[forpaws]

We flew Allegiant out of Springfield, Missouri to Las Vegas about a month ago...Springfield is about 4 hours from home, but we saved at least $500 by doing so. I'm more than willing to drive that far to save that much $$.

 

Our flights were on time, the staff was friendly, and we had no complaints. As another poster stated, they charge extra for everything. There are no complimentary soft drinks, peanuts or pretzels. They charged about $2 for a soft drink, juice, etc. Sandwiches were $6 I think.

 

There are also no pillows or blankets, but they will sell you either. I think the pillows were $5 and the blankets were $15.

 

All in all, I wasn't disappointed and would fly them again.

[forpaws]

It is a good airline my mom is a Flight Attendant for them and the way that they get away with such low fares is nothing is free on the flight no free cokes or pretzels, but in my opinion I can either go without or pay the $2.00 charge if i'm that thirsty. Another thing you may want to check is I also think I heard my mom say they charge $2.00 for every piece of luggage you check? Not 100% sure of that one though. Still a great deal.

 

You are correct in that they do charge for each checked bag, and I'm pretty sure it was $4.00 a bag. Again, not at all bad considering the price of the fare to begin with! :)

[readytolose]

We flew Allegiant Air to Vegas. Flights both ways were on time. The seats on the plane seemed a little crowded to me but I usually fly Midwest and there seems to be more room on those flights so I don't have much to compare it to. We didn't have to pay per luggage piece but everything else had a charge. Frankly I was surprised I could use the bathroom for free!

 

I don't mind paying for the drinks and snacks. If it will keep my fare lower I'm happy to pay for a soda if I want it. What I didn't like was having to pay for a pillow and blanket. I guess that isn't a big deal either if you know ahead of time. I am ALWAYS freezing on airplanes so I always keep my coat on and use a blanket. Next time I fly with them I'll bring my own along!

 

I wouldn't be hesitant in the least to book with them again.

[katiel53]

Thank you all for the info on Allegiant Air. I looked at their website after I posted yesterday. They are going to be flying from Sanford to Biloxi. I can hardly wait. We used to go there on Southeast and had lots of fun.

 

Sanford is an easy airport to get in and out of. I do have to say the highway to get there does have way too many tolls though. The Greenway (417) charges a toll every few miles. Thanks again for the info.

 

Who would have thought on a cruise site I would learn about a new way to get to Biloxi?

 

 

Katie

[silentbob007]

Part of our group in June is flying into Sanford on Allegiant. One thing we've found out ... some limo companies in the Orlando area (like Art's Shuttle) won't pick up there because they charge a fee to enter. The fares are unbelievable though ... my sister is flying from Chatanooga, TN and is payint $39 on Allegiant each way as compared to $250 on a major carrier each way.

[later]

We live about 10 miles from the Sanford airport and have used Alligiant several times to fly to Illinois. There is no fee to enter the airport. They do charge for parking now but that just recently started. The limo services most likely don't want to come to Sanford because it is to far away. The two airports are at least 20 miles apart from each other. Although I suppose the airport may require limo services to pay a fee to be licensed to work out of the airport like most taxi services.

 

I like the airport because we can drive to it in 15 minutes and security lines are minimal of non-existant. It is right by the northern beltway (toll road). The drive to the port may be 20 minutes more that out of MCO but you spent at least 20 minutes less in the airport getting baggage, etc.

[Iamthesea]

Allegiant is starting a service in the Tri Cities of TN at the end of the month. The advertised fare is $59 one way, so I did a price comparison.

 

Our airport also has a great fare to MCO on Delta, if you book far enough in advance. After I added the Allegiant fare, plus taxes, etc., plus confirmed seat fee, and baggage (which is $4) the two airlines came out the same price. Also, Delta leaves our airport with a direct flight to Orlando every afternoon and every morning of the week.

 

I didn't know until reading this thread that the Allegiant airport is in Sanford and I don't think that folks in my region know that. :eek: