SuZan Klassen

Allegiant Air Review
If you want to get away during the winter, it’s time to make your travel plans. I invite you to investigate Allegiant Air. A smaller airline has benefits.

Economy
Are you a budget traveler? If so, this is the first good reason to investigate Allegiant Air. We had never flown with Allegiant before. We were attracted to them because of their price and their flights to our desired destination in Florida.

Alert Pilots
I was also impressed to learn that their pilots usually fly one route back and forth per day. They are able to sleep in their own beds each night. That makes sense to me. I prefer to have pilots who are well-rested before they fly.

I have heard stories about bleary-eyed sleep-deprived pilots who fly extended junkets for other airlines. Those stories do not instill me with confidence. But maybe that’s just me.

Limited Routes
As you might expect from a smaller airline, Allegiant has limited routes available. Their main destinations are to Florida, South Carolina, California, Nevada, and Arizona. The majority of these are warm weather destinations, making them a good choice to consider if you seek escape from winter’s chill where you live.

Although they fly out of at least one city in most states, they do not fly everywhere in the U.S. Obviously, this is a drawback if they do not fly to your city or desired destination.

Travel Light Tips for Allegiant:

Some amenities you are used to will not be free on Allegiant. These are cost saving measures.
• Water is not free. Check prices for their drinks and snacks.
https://www.allegiantair.com/flight-refreshments-services

• The airline does not accept cash onboard as is common with most airlines currently.

• Only one personal bag per person is free (7in.x15in.x16in. Or 17.8cm x 38.1cm x 40.6cm maximum). Ladies, your purse is considered a personal item. If you’ll need a purse when you reach your destination, consider packing your empty purse into your larger personal bag so you have one less thing to carry while you travel. Consolidate any necessary items into your personal bag. I usually do this anyway, so it was not a problem for me. Other ladies opt for an extra large purse to carry everything when they travel, but remember the size restriction.

• You will be charged for carry-on bags as well as checked luggage.
https://www.allegiantair.com/popup/optional-services-fees#baggage

• All Allegiant flights are nonstop. Some routes may be seasonal.

• Check their interactive route map to choose your departure or arrival city. It’s a fun way to see their available destinations. Young children may enjoy this activity. See for yourself. Click first on the Allegiant Route Map. When the larger route map appears, click on the “dot” representing your home city or your destination. Lines will spring across the map to indicate routes. Larger orange dots show the most routes available from that location.
https://www.allegiantair.com/route-map

• When you register your flight be sure to enter your email address if you wish to receive details of potential additional savings. We only packed one carry-on for our short trip. As the date of our departure drew near, we received several emails offering discounts on both checked and carry-on luggage.

• Print your boarding pass at home or your hotel. The airline counter will charge you to print it at the airport. ($5.00 charge. No cash please.)

• If you decide to go with a paperless boarding pass, do not leave your smart phone at home (just sayin’—there’s a story there—see my previous blog post).

• How to Allegiant https://www.allegiantair.com/how-allegiant is a straight forward web page, which links to all those questions you have about: boarding passes, airport check-in, seat options, bag options, bag weight. Many other questions are answered via the links on the left side menu of the same page.

Conclusion
We found our trip on Allegiant to be some of the smoothest flying ever. No bumps on take-offs or landings. I enjoyed the pleasant attendants as well. Perhaps those are benefits of being well-rested.

Allegiant’s limited flight routes may be their only drawback.

As budget travelers, the price was right for us. We were willing to make a few minor adjustments to keep those low fares. If you also fly on a budget, you may find that Allegiant is right for you, too.

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Tell me about your experiences with air travel in the comments below. Name your favorite airline and why.

Until next time . . . Travel Light,
SuZan

© 2019 SuZan Klassen