[chinook79]

Just came back from trip to Hawaii using Allegiant Air.. and it really made me think twice flying with Allegiant Air again.

Worst part of the Allegiant Air is the leg room. I'm 6' and there is no way on earth that I would be able to sit comfortably on Allegiant Air seats. In the past, I've flew with Allegiant, Westjet, Air Canada, Singapore airline, JAL, KAL, Asiana Airline, AA, Cathay, PAL, Go! Hawaii, Hawaiian Air, Air New Zealand, United Airline and many other airlines and even infamous United Airline's discomfort seating does not match Allegiant Air's tightest leg room. It was so tight to the point that for the return flight, I paid extra $40 on a flight just to sit on the exit row(Allegiant Air won't allow anyone to sit on exit row regardless if it's empty or not unless you pay anywhere from $40 to $80 per seat per flight)

I still remember one of the worst customer services through Air Canada back in early 2000's when they were on strike. I thought back then that I've seen the worst. I am not kidding when I say that Allegiant Air actually makes old AC's services look good. The flight attendant at Allegiant Air actually screamed at one of the passenger on board to "sit down! and keep your belt on until I say it's ok!" in a tone as if she is ready to kick the guy into ground if he doesn't comply immediately.

They charge you for every little thing, from seat assignment, carry on luggage and even bottle of water for a flight that lasts 6.5 hours. Speaking of seat assignment, when I checked in 24 hour prior to boarding, Allegiant Air splitted me and my friend in different row. 24 hour prior to boarding, and you can't even seat next to your travelling buddy unless you pay extra $20 per seat to reassign your seating. When I bought a bottle of water, flight attendant said $2 and I handed her $2 cash. She looked at me and said credit card. When I said "excuse me?" she replied "credit card only!" in such aggressive voice. Never had I ever received such rude attitude from any airline in the past.

There are literally 0, yes 0 flight entertainment. Not even one single TV in the middle or radio. You either bring your own small entertainment small enough that they don't charge you for extra luggage(make sure it's fully charged as there is no plugs to charge any of your device during flight) or you'll have a lot of staring at the window to do for a long flight. One might argue, hey you can just snooze during the flight. The seat is so cramped, and the cabin temperature is so cold, that unless you are wearing a winter jacket or carry your own blanket and pay extra $40 to $80 per seat to sit on exit row, you will have very hard time falling asleep.

So with all the discomforts, is it really saving you money?
Apart from $600 that I paid for round trip for two to Hawaii, I had to pay $120 for one checked bag and two carry-on, $80 for seat assignment($160 if I sat on exit row both ways, but I didn't realize how uncomfortable seat was on the flight to Hawaii, so I only got exit row on the return flight), $6 for in-flight drinks, and $90 for parking at airport(you can save up to $45 by parking at third party parking lot, 'park and fly' but I personally don't trust them after seeing so many horror hidden TV)

To sum it all, $600 + $120(luggage fee which would be free with Westjet) + $160(to have reasonable leg room, again free with other airlines) + $50(estimated in-flight food service to match other airlines, $12.50 per flight per person which again is already included in your ticket price with other airlines) + $90 parking fee($10 per day, so if your trip is shorter, it would be cheaper and if I fly from YVR, I usually get a friend to drop me off and pick me up so I would not have to pay parking fee).
Total cost is $1,020. Yes, if you are 5' you'll save additional $160 for leg room, and $45 if you decided to park at 'park and ride', and $120 if you have absolutely no bag at all, and $50 if you don't even drink never mind food for 6.5 hour flight, but I wouldn't recommend this unless you are really starving student who needs to save every single penny.

A quick search through kayak shows that I can fly with WestJet for $522 per person which turns out to be $1,044. WOW I saved $22 flying through Allegiant Air!(driving to Bellingham is considered free since I can get cheap gas there). To save $22, I flew with Allegiant air that is absolutely worst in terms of customer services, infamous for flight delays(sometimes even 14 hour, and yes I've had my flight delayed 14 hours in the past through allegiant air), absolutely 0 in-flight entertainment, and freeze your butt for 6.5 hours.

In the past(few years back before flying from Bellingham was really popular), Allegiant had better services, and really did offer a lot better flight deal(as low as $19 one way to Las Vegas). As it gained popularity, the leg-room is cramped than ever, customer services completely disappeared, and they started charging for carry-on baggage.

Would I ever fly with Allegiant Air ever again? Most likely not. Is it worth the pennies you would save from flying with them? It's up to you to decide, but I personally wouldn't recommend it if you care even slightly about customer services, in-flight entertainment or comfort.