What to Know Before Flying Allegiant Air, According to Passenger Reviews

Allegiant Air currently flies within the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Allegiant often adds new routes at impressively low fares (think: $39 tickets). The drawback, however, is that you have to pay for every extra imaginable, from water on the plane to a full-size carry-on bag. If you're wondering whether or not to hop on an Allegiant Air flight, you first want to know what you're getting into. We've tracked down all the latest info on Allegiant Air and browsed Allegiant Air reviews to find out what passengers had to say about the airline. Here's everything you need to know before you fly.

Fare Classes

Ticketing with Allegiant Air is extremely straightforward. If you buy a ticket without purchasing any extras, you do not get an assigned seat — instead, the airline will randomly assign a seat to you. The other option is to purchase a specific seat before you fly. This will cost more, but you get to choose where in the aircraft you'd like to sit and ensure you're able to sit with your travel party. Finally, you can purchase seats with extra legroom on select aircrafts. That fare class is called Allegiant Extra, and the seat offers an additional six inches of legroom.

You can also purchase flight extras (which may help you with seat selection) in Allegiant bundles. Allegiant bundles (offered in Allegiant Basic, Allegiant Bonus, or Allegiant Total) help make the booking experience easier while saving you time and money. Allegiant Basic is the standard package, which comes with an unassigned seat and one personal item. Allegiant Bonus includes seat selection, a personal item, and a carry-on bag. Allegiant Total comes with one personal item, a carry-on bag, a checked bag, priority boarding, and Trip Flex (which allows you to change or cancel your flight).

Flight Change and Cancellation Policies

To mitigate the challenges of traveling amid COVID-19, Allegiant has temporarily reduced their change or cancellation fee to $25. That fee applies to each leg of your itinerary (i.e., if you're flying round-trip, direct to a destination, you'll be charged the fee twice). The $25 fee will be charged each time you change or cancel your flight, and you'll be responsible for paying the difference in fare.

Allegiant is clear that this reduction is just temporary, in light of COVID-19, and change or cancellation fees could go back up to $75 — with no changes permitted within seven days of travel. You can also purchase Trip Flex for your ticket, which allows you to change or cancel your flight with no fees all the way up to an hour before your departure time.

Baggage Policies and Fees

Every passenger, in booking their standard ticket, is allowed to carry on one personal item, free of charge. Allegiant recommends a purse, briefcase, or small backpack. It must be able to fit under the seat in front of you and be no larger than 7" x 15" x 16". It's unlikely that you'd be able to bring a suitcase or a weekender bag as your free personal item. However, every passenger can pay for one carry-on bag that can be stowed in the overhead bins. The dimensions for this bag are slightly larger than your personal item (9" x 14" x 22"). You can also purchase checked bags — up to four per passenger. These bags can be no more than 40 pounds and 80 linear inches.

Fees for each of these options vary — if you pay when booking your ticket, the fee will be less than if you're paying for them at the airport. Your carry-on bag can cost from $10 to $75. Fees for your checked bags vary in a similar realm. Often you're looking at $25 if purchased at the time of booking, $45 if purchased prior to departure, and $50 if you're paying for the bags at the airport.

Finally, there are additional fees if your checked bag is larger than 80 linear inches and 40 pounds. Depending on the size and weight, you'll add $50 or $75 to the checked bag fee for an overweight or oversized bag.

Boarding Order

Allegiant Air has four pre-boarding zones, followed by six general boarding zones. Here's how pre-boarding looks:

Pre-boarding: Passengers that require additional time or assistance

Priority boarding: Passengers who have purchased Priority Access in advance or have an Allegiant World Mastercard

Military boarding: Boarding reserved for active military personnel

Family boarding: Specifically for passengers traveling with young children and accessories like car seats and strollers

After these zones have concluded, Allegiant will move into general boarding with six zones. The first zone is the exit row. The next five zones are each associated with various areas of the plane.

Seats and Legroom

The standard seats on Allegiant offer less than 30 inches of seat pitch, minimizing legroom for passengers. However, their larger seats deliver an additional six inches of legroom and 34 inches between seats. To grab the extra legroom seats, you'll select an Allegiant Extra seat when booking your ticket. Scott of Sanspotter says the width of the Allegiant Air seats is about 17 inches. He says that "legroom is increased to 34 inches in a 'Legroom +' row towards the front of the aircraft," and concludes, "the bottom line is, if you want a more comfortable seat, fly Delta, American, or United instead."

Amenities and Entertainment

Food and Beverage Service

Food and beverages are available for purchase on Allegiant Air flights. Waters and sodas are $3. Beers and hard seltzers are $8. You can get La Colombe and Dunkin Donuts iced coffees for $4 or $5, respectively. In addition to individual snacks and drinks, available a la carte, you can get combos — like a bag of Tostitos chips, a container of salsa, and a Cazadores margarita for $14.

Customer Service

Among Allegiant Air reviews, the customer service is up for debate. While their aircrafts are well-staffed, some reviewers point out that trying to work with staff on the phone or online prior to a flight (on a change, cancellation, or special request) can be challenging. "I have been trying to contact customer service for weeks now to obtain information about a return flight. It has been impossible," says Martin B. on TripAdvisor. "Allegiant's on-line chat and phone number are always busy. They have failed to answer multiple emails. I finally decided to book the return flight with another airline. I doubt that I will use Allegiant again in the future."

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is not currently available on Allegiant Air flights.

In-flight Programming

There is no in-flight entertainment on Allegiant. You will not find magazines or in-flight movies, TV, or music onboard.

Allegiant Air Credit Cards

Allegiant Air has one credit card offering, in partnership with Bank of America. It's called the Allegiant World Mastercard. With the card, holders earn points that can be used toward Allegiant Air flights, as well as priority boarding and one complimentary beverage per flight. The annual fee is $59 and upon sign up, card holders get 15,000 points (which is equivalent to $150 redeemed with Allegiant).