Sanford airport reminds me of Des Moines airport. Nothing in it, but it’s quick to get in and out of, there isn’t some long walk to anything.
How bad is Allegiant?
- Thread starter clonechemist
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Agree. It was just tough because the flight from DSM to SFB was 2 hours late leaving so our return flight to DSM was very delayed. We hadn't eaten much that day and there just isn't anything there. The little bar and grill in our terminal also closed super early.
They are a lot better now with the A320s than when they had the worlds last surviving MD82s...
If you want cheap, and/or a direct flight to a destination they serve, you get it. But if you want to take bags, pick your seat, etc... you can go on one of the Big3 for essentially the same price and better service.
My only dislike is you often get amateur hour from the passengers: extended families on vacation - flying for the first time with kids and oldsters and everyone is confused yet entitled. Or party people that pre-gamed too hard before the flight being loud and obnoxious. That can be frustrating and annoying.
If you want cheap, and/or a direct flight to a destination they serve, you get it. But if you want to take bags, pick your seat, etc... you can go on one of the Big3 for essentially the same price and better service.
My only dislike is you often get amateur hour from the passengers: extended families on vacation - flying for the first time with kids and oldsters and everyone is confused yet entitled. Or party people that pre-gamed too hard before the flight being loud and obnoxious. That can be frustrating and annoying.
Yep. And unlike DM, you can’t even walk somewhere easily outside the airport when you discover the delay before going through security.
One time when we went to DM from Sanford on Allegiant, a woman with three kids was on board, and the oldest, who was about 5, wound up sitting by my husband. He entertained the little girl and her sister across the aisle the entire flight. The mother asked me for our address to have the kids send him a thank you. The older girl is now a teenager and still writes him maybe four times a year. He has made her a nerd, she’s fascinated by the space program thanks to him. And the mom thought the flight would be a disaster but she was able to just focus on the baby.
Thanks for posting this. Our family is flying to Tampa area in December with three kids. I'm a little nervous on how well the kids will do and how much judgement we will receive from other passengers.
That is why we fly Frontier to Orlando. My wife hates non direct flights so we fly Allegiant and Frontier alot and have never had issues.
We fly Kansas City to Tampa direct with Southwest.
Just parental advice. If your kids are old enough bring candy (pops their ears) and cheap throwaway new toys (like the dentist freebie ones).
Flown on allegiant probably 8-10 times and I couldn’t tell the difference in their flights and everyone else’s. They’re all the same. Just don’t get caught up in all the extra stuff they can charge you for.
We fly a decent amount with younger kids. I think it's fair to be nervous, but don't be too hard on yourselves. People are generally understanding, but with airports and schedules, and all that, emotions kinda get turned up to 11. I generally look to the helpful/understanding folks, and try not to let things get under my skin.......even if they still occasionally do
Like any budget airline, don’t expect a first class flight as far as extras go.
The main risk you run with Allegiant is the limited flight times and flexibility. If a flight gets delayed, you’re often screwed because it may be the only Allegiant flight that day.
The main risk you run with Allegiant is the limited flight times and flexibility. If a flight gets delayed, you’re often screwed because it may be the only Allegiant flight that day.
We just flew to New York with our three kids on Allegiant. Almost 100% of people understand that kids are difficult to travel with and don't judge you. We flew to Orlando last November on Allegiant, and there were tons of families on the plane, so I imagine going to Tampa in December will be similar.
I think it’s hard to remember in these days of hateful social media and news that generally, most people are decent. They just don’t get attention for it.
We flew once with five kids but at that point, older kids are quite helpful with younger ones.
We also were into bribing our kids. Everyone got a new toy or book for the trip, with threat the item would enter perpetual time out if they weren’t good listeners on the plane.
You do get a big grace period early on when the kids are just fascinated by the plane and asking how it works. Or that may just be my nerdy kids.
Unless something has changed in the last decade, this is every carrier at DSM. I've had this happen at least once with everyone I've flown with over the years there. Between this and how long it takes to get bags at DSM compared to literally every other airport I've been to is ridiculous. But hey, building another terminal should make this work even better!
I've flown a lot and that seems to be standard fair on any airline if you're going during peak vacation season.
If you're flying out of Vegas everyone pregamed too hard regardless of the airline they are flying home on.
I will take 2.5 hours in a somewhat barely functional chair over flying thru Chicago, Atlanta, St Louis, etc and spending the entire damn day getting to your destination.
Have flown numerous times to FL and Vegas, the flights are fine. I won't complain as opposed to paying another $200 for a ticket for the awesomeness of getting a shot glass of "free" soda with a bag of pretzels.
Have flown numerous times to FL and Vegas, the flights are fine. I won't complain as opposed to paying another $200 for a ticket for the awesomeness of getting a shot glass of "free" soda with a bag of pretzels.
My father in law works at the DSM airport, when this project finally gets done it will feel like night and day compared to what we have now. More terminals will help a ton
As someone who flies 1-2 times per month for business, I think there is budget and then there's *budget*. I would fly airlines like Frontier or Southwest any time. They offer a little bit less vs the main airlines but have multiple flights per day and in my experience have generally been on time.
I will personally never fly Allegiant. I would take delays and layovers 10 times out of 10 vs even a 1% chance that you will be stuck for a day or multiple days due to Allegiant's rickety planes breaking down. I have heard of too many stories of people getting stranded by Allegiant.
I think it's also colored by my experience as a business traveler though too. When you are stuck flying for business, it really becomes a grind and even minor things can feel unbearable. If I was flying once or twice a year for family vacation, I'd probably be more willing to fly Allegiant. Things like being nickled and dimed for every little thing or dealing with passengers who have no idea how to fly or pass through security can set me off. People who travel for business I think can understand - we all try to stay out of each others' way and get through it. In Cedar Rapids, you can tell when there's an Allegiant flight coming through based just on the passengers in the airport.
I will personally never fly Allegiant. I would take delays and layovers 10 times out of 10 vs even a 1% chance that you will be stuck for a day or multiple days due to Allegiant's rickety planes breaking down. I have heard of too many stories of people getting stranded by Allegiant.
I think it's also colored by my experience as a business traveler though too. When you are stuck flying for business, it really becomes a grind and even minor things can feel unbearable. If I was flying once or twice a year for family vacation, I'd probably be more willing to fly Allegiant. Things like being nickled and dimed for every little thing or dealing with passengers who have no idea how to fly or pass through security can set me off. People who travel for business I think can understand - we all try to stay out of each others' way and get through it. In Cedar Rapids, you can tell when there's an Allegiant flight coming through based just on the passengers in the airport.