What you need to know before flying with Allegiant Air: tips for planning your trip
Allegiant Air is an airline that operates within the United States of America, offering more than a hundred destinations mostly to small regional airports. The carrier is in demand among tourists traveling to places with colder northern climates or choosing more popular warm-weather destinations such as Orlando, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, or Phoenix. The airline often adds new routes at very affordable prices (just imagine, a ticket can cost $39!). However, the main disadvantage is that you will have to pay extra for almost everything: from water on board to full-size carry-on luggage, so be prepared to travel light. What do you need to know before flying with Allegiant Air? Find out the best tips and basics before you book your ticket.
Fare classes available
Like most carriers, when you buy tickets from Allegiant Air without additional services, you don't get an assigned seat; instead, the airline randomly selects one for you. This is a good option to save money, especially if you are traveling alone. However, if you are traveling together with family members, friends, partners, etc., you can purchase a specific seat before departure. You can also choose a seat with extra legroom (not available on all aircraft). To do this, add the Allegiance Extra service to your cart when purchasing a ticket and you will receive an additional six inches of space for greater comfort.
The airline offers three classes of packages:
- Allegiant Basic – available seat selection, hand luggage, and one personal item with you;
- Allegiant Bonus – in addition to the previous fare, priority boarding, checked baggage, but no hand luggage is provided;
- Allegiant Total – includes all items from the previous two classes.
The price of each package includes Trip Flex – the ability to change or cancel a flight without paying an additional fee.
How to change or cancel a flight: features
If you do not plan to purchase any of the packages that include Trip Flex, you will have to pay a fee of USD 25 in case of a necessary change or cancellation. The fee applies to each stage of the flight. For example, if you have a round-trip ticket, you will have to pay a double fee.
When flying with Allegiant Air, it is worth knowing that changes or cancellations must be made no later than seven days before the scheduled departure. It should also be borne in mind that the relatively low fee of USD 25 was introduced in response to the crisis during the COVID pandemic. At that time, the cost of the service was reduced from USD 75. At the same time, this action was not intended to be permanent, so the air carrier can return to the previous policy at any time.
If you are not sure about the possibility of flying, you should purchase the Trip Flex service to cancel or change your flight without a fee one hour before the scheduled departure time. When purchasing a package, such as Allegiant Basic or Allegiant Bonus, this benefit is added to your ticket automatically.
Baggage fees and rules
When booking a standard ticket, a passenger can transport one personal item for free. It can be a small backpack, briefcase, or handbag. The baggage must be placed under the seat in front of you, and its dimensions must not exceed 8 x 14 x 18 inches. This should be taken into account because in this case, you will not be able to take a full suitcase, sufficient for a weekend or short vacation. In this case, you can pay for the transportation of hand luggage, which must be placed in the overhead compartments. The dimensions of such a bag should be up to 10 x 16 x 22 inches. Passengers also have the option of paying extra to transport checked baggage (up to four pieces per passenger). The size of a suitcase can be no more than 50 pounds and 80 linear inches.
The amount of the fee differs depending on whether you pay the fee when booking your ticket or pay at the airport. For example, personal carry-on baggage costs an average of $10 to $75. An even bigger difference is noticeable when purchasing a checked baggage transportation service. For example, when booking a ticket, you can pay from 20 to 35 USD. Checking in just before departure will cost 45 USD, and at the airport, passengers will have to pay 50 USD.
In addition, there are additional fees, so the main advice for traveling with Allegiant Air is to book in advance and carefully check the size of your suitcase. This will help you save money and avoid overpaying. For example, if the dimensions of checked baggage exceed 80 linear inches and the weight is more than 50 pounds, you will have to pay an additional fee of 50 to 75 USD. Restrictions do not apply to strollers, car seats, mobility aids, and other auxiliary devices.
Boarding procedure
Before you travel with Allegiant Air, you should understand the peculiarities of priority boarding:
- pre-boarding – for passengers who need assistance or additional time;
- priority – for those who have purchased Priority Access service or are holders of Allegiant World Mastercard;
- military – reserved for military personnel;
- family – relevant for passengers traveling with small children and needing additional devices, such as strollers or car seats.
After completing the above zones, the air carrier begins general boarding, starting from the exit row and continuing with the numbered rows.
Extra space
If you want to feel more comfortable, a tip for traveling with Allegiant Air is to purchase a ticket that provides an additional 34 inches between the seats and 6 inches of legroom. In this case, you need to choose the Allegiant Extra fare when booking your ticket.
Airline credit cards
In partnership with Bank of America, the carrier offers to issue a credit card. With this payment instrument, users can accumulate points. The points can be spent on priority boarding, Allegiant Air flights, and one free drink on board. The annual fee for using the credit card is USD 59. Immediately after registration, its holders receive 15,000 points on their account, which are equivalent to 150 USD, used for the services offered by the airline.
Available amenities and entertainment
When flying with Allegiant Air, you can buy drinks and food. For example, a bottle of water or soda costs $4, and beer costs from $4 to $9. The company also offers Dunkin Donuts doughnuts and La Colombe iced coffee for the same price of USD 5. In addition to individual drinks and snacks, you can buy packages for $11 that include a mixed assortment.
The airline positions itself as a low-cost airline with limited amenities, which helps to minimize flight costs. Allegiant Air's planes offer only economy class, and the seats do not recline.
As for customer service, there are conflicting reviews online. Some customers have trouble contacting staff online or by phone, and the chatbot is often overloaded. At the same time, during flights, employees are polite and friendly, trying to help passengers with their requests as quickly as possible.
Currently, there is no Wi-Fi on the flights, and there is no music, magazines, or screens showing TV shows or movies on board. Therefore, the main advice for flying with Allegiant Air is to take your favorite book with you or download music to your phone in advance to avoid getting bored while traveling.
