Allegiant Air: An Honest Review
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Last month, I flew Allegiant Air for the first time, traveling round-trip from Boston to Grand Rapids. Given the airline’s mixed reputation, I was a touch apprehensive about flying with them, but as they were considerably cheaper than the other airlines, I decided to take my chances. And for the most part, my gamble paid off.
Cost
First things first, though, let’s go over costs. As with Frontier Airlines and Spirit, Allegiant is a budget airline with an à la carte pricing structure. That is to say, everything, except for one personal item, costs extra. Want to select your own seat? That’s an additional fee. Want to bring a carry-on bag? Another fee. Want extra legroom? You guessed it – yet another fee.
Below is the breakdown of my round-trip ticket from Boston to Grand Rapids in May 2025.
Airfare: $59.67
Round Trip Discount: -$10.00
U.S. Federal Excise Tax – Air: $3.73
U.S. Flight Segment Tax: $10.40
U.S. Passenger Facility Charge: $9.00
U.S. September 11th Security Fee: $11.20
Carry-on Bag: $64.00
Seat Selection Fee: $17.00
Carrier Usage Charge: $44.00
Total: $209.00
Flight Experience
Boarding
For the flight to Grand Rapids, the boarding was delayed by several minutes, but despite its late start, it finished on time, ensuring a timely departure. The return flight to Boston was not fully booked, and as a result, the boarding finished ahead of schedule, permitting an early departure.
As for the boarding process, it resembled that of most other airlines, namely, passengers boarded by assigned group number. There were eight groups; fortunately, I was in the third group on both legs of the journey. This meant I had no difficulty finding room in the overhead bins for my suitcase.
Seats
If I were to hand out an award for the most uncomfortable airline that I have flown on, Allegiant would be the uncontested winner. On both flights, the seats were incredibly thin with next-to-no legroom. With only a few inches of space between my kneecaps and the seat in front of me, I couldn’t stretch out my legs, resulting in them feeling painfully cramped by the end of the flight – and it was only a two-hour flight, mind you.
As if that were not bad enough, the seats did not recline, and they lacked a mesh pocket for storing small personal items, such as a book or water bottle. The tray table was also mind-bogglingly small; it could accommodate my phone and not much else, save for maybe a pen or pencil. Given the lack of a functional tray table and pocket, it should come as no surprise that there was also no TV.
Helpful tidbit — If you plan on flying Allegiant but want to be able to watch a show or movie, bring your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Due to its thin profile and large screen, I prefer to bring my iPad. Before leaving home, I download movies and shows from the Netflix app onto it.
Itty-bitty tray table
In-Flight Service
There was one in-flight service shortly after we reached cruising altitude, but everything – even the water – cost money. As this was not my first foray into low-cost airlines, I knew not to expect food and accordingly brought food and water with me onto the plane.
Helpful tidbit — Pack an empty water bottle like this one from Nalgene. Many airports now have water bottle refill stations (usually by the bathrooms), so if you bring your own water bottle, you can avoid having to pay for overpriced water at the airport.
Overall
Years ago, my brother-in-law suggested that I meet him and my sister at this restaurant called The Pub. When I asked him whether The Pub was any good, he responded with “It’s cheap,” and that is precisely how I feel about Allegiant. It is a cheap way to get from Point A to B – nothing more, nothing less.
-Julia
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