Allegiant Air?

[H20Babie]

How does this airline compare to others?

I am considering driving 4 hours to Fargo, ND to fly to MCO in August (it will save us approx $500-700 CAN for the two of us). I usually fly NWA/United/WestJet straight out of Winnipeg, but the savings are hard to ignore.

What about parking options for the week or so, etc.?

Much thanks!

 

[BigRedDad]

From my understanding, it is typical value airline. There are no frills. I am not sure if you will fly into Sanford or MCO. If Sanford, I think it is like a 45-60 minute drive to WDW and there are no shuttles like DME. It is another thing to consider. Another thing to consider is the baggage fees. For me, it is a 1.5 hour drive to get to an airport with Allegiant. Yes, the price is less. However, add the 1.5 hour each way driving, leaving the car for a week, the baggage fees, and the trip from Sanford to WDW, I would spend more than SW.

Check the prices closely to insure you have all the hidden details together as well. 4 hours driving to one airport, an extra 30 minutes in Orlando from Sanford, baggage fees, etc. May all be far too much hassle.

 

[slappy magoo]

From my understanding, it is typical value airline. There are no frills. I am not sure if you will fly into Sanford or MCO. If Sanford, I think it is like a 45-60 minute drive to WDW and there are no shuttles like DME. It is another thing to consider. Another thing to consider is the baggage fees. For me, it is a 1.5 hour drive to get to an airport with Allegiant. Yes, the price is less. However, add the 1.5 hour each way driving, leaving the car for a week, the baggage fees, and the trip from Sanford to WDW, I would spend more than SW.

Check the prices closely to insure you have all the hidden details together as well. 4 hours driving to one airport, an extra 30 minutes in Orlando from Sanford, baggage fees, etc. May all be far too much hassle.

I would second the suggestion that you quadruple check to make sure there are no hidden fees, things that you think will be included in your tiket price that aren't. If, of course, you haven't done so already.

 

[H20Babie]

There are baggage fees (first one $15-25), so the price will go up slightly but not so much as that it will make it a moot point. Even with prior seating fees, it still comes out hundreds cheaper.

 

[disneyliv85]

I flew Allegiant last May and had no troubles with them. They were the cheapest flight for me even with the little fees.

I don't know about your exact airport but we had to park at the Indy airport (in the economy lot of course) for 8 days and it cost around $70. Your airports website should have a list of parking garage fees somewhere or at least a phone number to call.

- Also, the economy lot was pretty far away but they had shuttles running pretty consistently. Just letting you know so you can make sure to allow for a bit of extra time.

 

[DAKOTADISNEY]

We flew on Allegiant this past week out of South Dakota and had a good flight. The airplanes have leather seats and are pretty comfortable. Having a direct flight is nice as well. For the downside we payed $120 to check 3 bags (round trip). I think paying for preferred seating is unnecessary because they assigned us a seat and grouped our family in the same aisle anyway. So yes, the extra fees can add up.

If you're flying into Sanford the drive will take around 50 minutes, but it's not a difficult drive. It cost us around $5.50 in tolls one way.

For 4 of us to fly Allegiant and get a rental car it cost $1347.00. This was cheaper than what we could get through any of the other airlines and fly into MCO. I would rather fly into MCO and use the Magical Express but budget wise we went with Allegiant. Hope any of this helps you.

 

[H20Babie]

Allegiant flies direct from Fargo, ND to MCO so it's all good

 

[mkt]

Umm.. they don't fly to MCO from Fargo. They fly to SFB, which is about 80km away from WDW.

 

[dxwwf3]

I'm really glad Allegiant switched from SFB to MCO in my area (Tri Cities, TN). SFB was fine, but if we fly in the future, it will be nice not to have to worry about paying to get to Disney.

 

[One Lil Spark]

We can fly out of Greenville/Spartanburg on Allegiant Air directly to MCO. It's QUITE a bit cheaper than anything else I've checked out flight-wise, but I'm really wondering about the hidden fees. I see above mentions of fees for baggage... Am I to take it that ANY bags you check are given a fee? What about carry-ons?

Thanks in advance. :wave:

 

[ewensell3]

We can fly out of Greenville/Spartanburg on Allegiant Air directly to MCO. It's QUITE a bit cheaper than anything else I've checked out flight-wise, but I'm really wondering about the hidden fees. I see above mentions of fees for baggage... Am I to take it that ANY bags you check are given a fee? What about carry-ons?

Thanks in advance. :wave:

From http://www.allegiantair.com/aaFAQ.php

First checked bag purchased in advance (eg. you purchase baggage handling online at the same time as your tickets) is $15-$20 per segment. Second bag is $25-$30. If you wait until check-in or the gate to check your bags, it is $35/bag per segment.

So, if you purchase baggage handling for one bag in advance, it'll be around $30 ($15 x each way).

One carry-on and one personal item (purse, laptop bag, diaper bag, etc) is allowed at no charge. The carry-on must be no larger than 9"x14"x 22" and the personal item 9"x16"x19".

There are additional fees such as seat selection (mandatory), "priority boarding" (optional), online booking fees, and the like. My suggestion would be to go to their website and go through the motions of booking to get the grand total, stopping short of giving your credit card number. Use that to compare to other airlines.

If you will be renting a car, Allegiant has a partnership with Alamo. I'd go ahead and get a flight+car bundle and see how that compares with other airlines+car. In some cases Allegiant seat tickets may be more than another, but they may make it up with the car rental.

 

[One Lil Spark]

Thanks, ewensell3! I'll check out their website and do your suggestion of 'almost' booking to check the savings. :wave: