Traveling is meant to be an exciting, life-enriching experience. However, my recent adventure with a well-known budget airline transformed what should have been a simple flight into a costly and frustrating ordeal. This is my firsthand account of the disheartening challenges faced with an Allegiant Airlines that promised affordability but delivered frustration.
A Rocky Start to Our Journey
It all began with a much-anticipated trip from Florida to Tennessee on Allegiant Airlines. My fiancé and I were eager to visit her father, whom she hadn’t seen in eight years. We arrived at Sanford International Airport (SFB), set to depart to McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) full of excitement. We reached the check-in counter one hour and 45 minutes before our flight, only to be turned away because our bags supposedly could not be processed — we were 15 minutes shy of the recommended two-hour check-in window. Despite our presence well before takeoff, we were forced to purchase new tickets for a later flight at a staggering cost of $800, without any offer of a refund for our original tickets.
Encounters with Unyielding Policies
Our attempt to check our bags for the new flight added insult to injury. The counter agents insisted on a 2 to 2.5-hour prior check-in for bags, contradicting the earlier two-hour guideline and adding further delays and costs, including a $10 parking fee. The inconsistency in policy application was not just confusing; it was infuriating, reflecting a lack of respect for passengers and our circumstances.
Broader Patterns of Dissatisfaction
As I later discovered, my experience was far from unique with Allegiant Airlines. Other travelers shared their grievances online, revealing a pattern of poor service that seemed systemic within the airline. Stories ranged from arbitrary Allegiant Airlines fees to outright cancellations without adequate support. One passenger recounted a harrowing 30-hour ordeal due to a weather-delayed flight, which ended in an unscheduled landing far from the original destination. Others told of missed events, lost baggage, and encounters with Allegiant Airlines’ rude staff who seemed indifferent to the stress and chaos their actions caused.
Read Allegiant Airlines Reviews Below with Links
Allegiant’s business model is to tack on as many extra fees as possible for bags, priority boarding and seat selection. It is a no frills airline that has a lot of older planes but they have chosen routes that are underserved by major carriers. Allegiant’s flights are direct.
A few months ago when flying from Mesa to Bellingham, which usually takes three hours, the ordeal took 30 hours. The flight never should have left Mesa because the weather in Bellingham was horrible with a blizzard going on. After circling Bellingham for awhile it was decided that they could not land and we diverted to Pasco, which is hundreds of miles away. Basically we were dumped in Pasco late at night and left on our own to either return to Mesa the next day or find some other way to get to Bellingham. The passes were closed and no rental cars were available. Many of us took a train to Portland then north to Bellingham and Vancouver, which was quite the adventure since it hit a tree that had fallen onto the tracks and caused even more delay.
Flying Allegiant is really a trade off. It can save you time and perhaps money, but if you are not in a hurry to get there and comfort is important, then look elsewhere.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1-d8729019-r673051363-Allegiant_Air-World.html#
Worst experience ever. After waiting in the baggage check line for 58 minutes the counter representative informed me that the flight schedule to leave in 44 minutes has already closed doors and would not board any more passengers. The representative further explained that they do not have any options and do not provide any customer service at the airport. They proceeded to inform me and the other customers that could not board the flight that the only option was to contact the customer service phone line but they did not have that phone number. After a quick internet search I was able to contact the baggage hot line and that allowed me to contact customer service. After another 50 minute wait i was able to talk with a representative in sale who said that they do not provide customer support only sales. The representative then offered to reschedule the return flight for a $75 re-booking fee. I would rate this airline as the worst for customer care and support. Also has extremely long lines and unhelpful representatives. I certainly would not book another flight with Allegiant, ever!
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1-d8729019-r673051363-Allegiant_Air-World.html#
You get what you pay for (but worse) with this airline. Booked a package trip with 6 girls to Vegas. Everything was fine in the beginning until a ground worker failed to operate a machinery properly damaging the aircraft, leaving us to sit on the plane at 8:30AM for 2 hours for a “sign off on paperwork”, with the pilot assuring us everything was ok. He even told us there would be another aircraft to switch to if the worst happened. In the end, we were forced to deplane and waited another 1.5 hours for an update regarding a rescheduling of the flights (they told us NOT to leave because a flight may be available soon) and we were rescheduled to another flight at noon the NEXT day, with $175 compensation per 3 PEOPLE. Not per passenger and a $100
Voucher for next time (like we ever would use it after this experience). A $350 total compensation for a flight we paid over $700. Took us 2 hours to get in touch with customer service. Thankfully, Frontier was an AMAZING airline and had availability for another flight even though we had to suck up the extra cost.
We arrived in Las Vegas at 11PM and tried to check in the hotel (part of the package). Took us over 2 hours at the check in counter because the hotel couldn’t find both rooms just to figure out that Allegiant booked the second room under a different passenger’s name without informing us. It ended up a 17 hour travel day, ruined our first day of the trip. To top it off, now it will not allow us to check in online for our flight home, which means another phone call to customer service.
In conclusion, ruined my best friend’s bachelorette trip. Will never book again with Allegiant.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1-d8729019-r949418493-Allegiant_Air-World.html#
Our flight was supposed to leave at 5:50pm. We sat in the airport for 4 hrs before it was rescheduled to the next day at 1:20pm. While we waited at the airport, the sign at the gate kept changing (announcing other flights, that our flight had already left, or just going blank) and the desk agent kept disappearing so there was no one to ask for clarification. We were given maybe 3 overhead updates in all this time with various excuses for the delay, each one sounded like a lie. When they finally announced the reschedule, it was via email. It was so frustrating to not have information or even a person to ask our questions. Just 200 people told to leave the airport at 10pm and come back tomorrow. Scramble to find hotels and transportation. This delay caused loss of work for me, my husband and my brother. Our flight going there was also delayed and had poor communication!
Terrible customer experience, awful communication, mismanagement at every turn. I will never ever fly Allegiant again and have never been so eager to leave a rating before.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1-d8729019-r947767404-Allegiant_Air-World.html#
Chose allegiant to fly out from AVL to Key West because it was a direct flight and slightly cheaper. Flight was cancelled 30 minutes before boarding and no flights were rescheduled to compensate. When getting our baggage back after checking it, our bags were left looking like they were dragged through the mud and we had not even flown anywhere yet. After being on hold with the them for over an hour, the man on the other line seemed very unprofessional putting us on and off hold because he seemed to have no idea what he was doing and could not give us a single answer to our questions without putting us back on hold first for him to ask someone else. When we asked for our refund he claimed that the flight to EYW was only a quarter of the total price of the round trip flight and that the flight back was significantly more so we barely got any refund for that at all or compensation for having to book a new last minute flight. As if it cannot get worse, we are trying to check into our flight back and it is not allowing us that option, just says error. We call again and after being on hold for over 2 hours we just hung up and left for the airport early to deal with it. They tried to charge us to print a boarding pass at the airport because we did not print it at home because we could not check in. Needless to say, that was my one and only experience with allegiant and I will never be going through that chaos again. The cheaper flight may seem worth it but after adding the cost of seats, bags, and insurance it just is not the best option.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1-d8729019-r946822405-Allegiant_Air-World.html#
I booked with Allegiant earlier this year because their fares were low and I thought I was getting a good deal.
I did not know downloading their app is a requirement, which is ridiculous anyway, and could not check myself in at the airport as Allegiant does not have the computers every other airline has.
So I waited in a super long line and when I got to the front, I asked for help. The agent was incredibly RUDE and charged me for my boarding passes, wild. I offered to step out of line and download the app and she declined. The app literally downloaded before she’d printed my bag tags but she still threatened to kick me out of line and send me to the back if I didn’t pay for each boarding pass. (Passes are free in the app)
She then neglected to tag my bag and left it abandoned near south wests area. Luckily south west found my bag and called me. I needed my bag to fly with my as I had medication for my daughter and myself in said bag as well as most of my daughters competition things. Someone from Allegiant mailed my bag to me, it reached me the next day- unfortunately I’d already had to purchase toothbrushes and undergarments for us all and new competition makeup for my daughter. There was no follow up. After sending 5 emails, the company reimbursed my bag check fee. Hands down the worst experience. The front desk lady was so unhappy and unhinged leaving my suitcase behind because I didn’t download an app???
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1-d8729019-r946365335-Allegiant_Air-World.html#
This is without a doubt the most rude and incompetent airline in existence. I have flown many different airlines across the years, including cheap airlines like Spirit, and Allegiant simply is not worth the money — no matter how cheap the flight, it is severely over-priced because this airline is garbage.
On this occasion, I had to change my flight so I could leave a day earlier and I waited hours upon hours for someone to answer my call. Then this incompetent man, at some call center ex-US, disconnects me. I have to repeat the entire process, more hours spent waiting for someone to answer. I was on the phone all day, literally.
So I finally get my flight changed and the incompetent man charges me to change the flight, despite that I had paid extra to be able to change my flight. So the incompetent man issues a credit to me for a future flight instead of a refund. But wait, it gets worse…
Fast forward to my flight day and I am getting notices about my original flight, not the flight that I am headed to the airport for. So I go into the Allegiant app to see what is going on and even though I have a boarding pass for the new flight I am still booked on the old flight. Obviously a 9-year old can see the problem in this, but the incompetent Allegiant customer service rep cannot. So I attempt to cancel the the incorrect flight and I get a pop-up. It tells me it is too late to make changes and to call a special “back door” phone number. Here it is for you: 702-637-7038.
My call is answered right away but by this time I am in my car headed to the airport. The agent, who is in the US, tells me that I am not actually on the flight that I am headed to the airport to board! I did mention that I have a boarding pass, right? Tell me how that happened! So she straightens everything out for me. She also tells me that the voucher the incompetent man emailed to me is unusable. So she sends a credit voucher that looks completely different. OMG.
Now since I had a credit on Allegiant, I had to dreadfully fly with them one more time. But never will I ever fly with this lousy airline again. So this time around, everyone that I communicate at Allegiant via phone or email is EXTREMELY RUDE, JUST NASTY. And as a disabled person they gave me an extremely hard time about accommodating my medical needs. I had to threaten them twice with going to the authorities — they attempted to lie to me and tell me that they are complying with all applicable laws. I told them that I know my rights and I would not let them get away with violating them. Finally they acquiesced but it was all very unacceptable. I have flown a lot and used many different airlines. My request for accommodation as a disabled person has always been met with prompt polite service. Until I traveled on Allegiant. What a bad business. I hope they fail.
I will be using Spirit out of MCO. It was a night and day difference. Spirit airline is VERY professional and VERY polite.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1-d8729019-r943695854-Allegiant_Air-World.html#
The Impact of Allegiant Airlines Cost-Cutting Measures
What became painfully clear through these experiences is the real cost of low-cost travel. Allegiant Airlines’ aggressive fee structure for everything from baggage to boarding and seat selection adds up quickly, often diminishing the initial savings advertised. Their business model, heavily reliant on cutting operational costs, appears to compromise not just comfort but also reliability and customer satisfaction.
Reflections and Resolutions
This journey was more than just a series of flights; it was a lesson in the true cost of choosing a budget airline. It highlighted the importance of transparency and customer care — areas where many low-cost carriers fall short. The ordeal has led me to reconsider my travel choices, prioritizing airlines that value service and reliability over misleading cost savings. I will never be using Allegiant Airlines again and recommend other do the same.
As I reflect on the entire experience with Allegiant Airlines, I am left with a resolve to seek better, more reliable alternatives in the future. The stress and added expense were not worth the initial savings. True value in travel, I’ve learned, comes not from cutting costs but from investing in quality experiences and peace of mind.
