A few weeks ago there was uproar following the 60 Minutes report on the questionable safety record of Allegiant. In response, I wrote the post Don’t Fly Allegiant. There was a lot of pushback from Allegiant’s CEO about the accuracy of the report. The controversy dissipated following the tragic event where a passenger lost her life on a Southwest Airlines flight.
Given the report and my past experiences with Allegiant (see Allegiant Airlines Review: Expect Everything, Carry Nothing), I was perfectly happy to never fly the airline again. That was until I needed a flight from Arizona to Montana, the last lengthy domestic trip before TPOL Moves to Puerto Rico. I had two options: 1) fly PHX to MSO via DEN leaving mid-morning and arriving near midnight on the most uncomfortable airline, Frontier. 2) Fly direct from Mesa to MSO direct on Allegiant for $154 including my checked golf clubs. Ignoring the advice of the former NTSB employee, a former FAA lawyer, and my own advice, I booked the flight.
Instead of a dated MD-80, I flew on a new A320. I even had the whole row to myself for most of the trip (some random decided to sit in the aisle after we took off, not cool). Two hours and twenty minutes later, I arrived in MSO without incident. The only complaint I have is that Allegiant charges for water. That’s borderline illegal. Other than that, the no frills airline did its job in getting me from point A to point B safe and sound.
And now, more photos of Allegiant than you’ll find anywhere.
Flying my first G4 flight Friday on USA-PIE. $40 vs $370 on AA. Hoping for the best. May splurge for extra legroom seats, as a 6’4” dude bc that shit looks really tight.
For leisure flights where it’s not imperative for you to arrive that day if something goes wrong, Allegiant is actually not bad. My city gets hosed pretty badly by the Big 3, so Allegiant offers a less pricey option.