Allegiant air does not care

[blythwood]

Yesterday I drove, or rather crawled on the qew, from Toronto to Niagara Falls New York for a cheap flight to Florida.i have made this trip more than a dozen times over the last six years, often buying tickets for my family as well because the low price was attractive. I always leave two hours airport time in addition to generous travel time, but yesterday the roads were so slushy and traffic so slow it ate into my extra allowance. Arriving at the airport only half an hour before the flight, I was hopeful because I had no luggage.
The desk was closed, security was closed, and another latecomer and I tracked down the airport manager. After lecturing us on lateness, he went behind the locked glass door and tracked down the Allegiant air staff. The airline staff could have easily processed us at that time...but chose not to. I had already paid for preselected seat, and as earlier mentioned had no bags. We waited there and no one came to even speak to us for half an hour until the plane pulled away from the gate. There are no further flights until Friday. My holiday was ruined. While I realize that I am largely at fault, I should have left even earlier, I believe that many other personnel would have let us on the plane. When I called to cancel my return flight last night, allegiant air told me that they close the front desk a full hour before the flight. And they, too, lectured me. On top of that, they had me listed as no show as of the time the plane left..a full half hour after I had been standing at their desk with no personnel attending.
Getting a deal has its costs, that is for sure. I will never make another winter drive to the states for a cheap flight, the stress of the drive is not worth it for me, and as the airport mgr said to me, don't expect any service when you buy a cheap ticket. And the other unfortunate part? Not even in the states long enough for duty free!

[CrazyQT]

That' sucks that you missed your flight. I don't know if you should say that they don't care though. Airlines have guideline, timelines and policies to follow. Their FAQ's clearly state all passengers must be checked in ONE HOUR prior to departure.

They can't bend the rules for a few stragglers or they would never depart on time.

[Darth Penguin]

Depending on the size of the airport and the number of gates, a plane may be boarded and moved to the taxi-way 30 mins or longer before departure so the desk staff couldn't have got any-one on the plane regardless of a non-emergancey reason.

That's happened to Mr P before, even though the flight was supposed to have been held back due to the connecting flights being delayed.

[princess_m]

We almost had this issue with Air Canada in November. I didn't realize that AC changed their check in times and they want u there an hour and a half before. We were either 45-60 mins when I was at the check in kiosk when an AC attendant yelled out 2 mins left before the cut off for Vancouver. We quickly checked in and we were bumped to the front of the line to make sure our luggage made it as well. Now I tell everyone to check in as recommended. If we had been late like u...the same thing would have happened to us with AC.

Have u seen Allegiant's Face book page? Nothing but complaints about delays, cancellations, pilots not showing up, only a long distance call if u want customer service. Wow! If I had read that then I might not of flown with them. That said...I had flown with them from Bellingham to San Fran return in July and it wasn't bad. Under an hour delay there and I think was ok on the way back.

[VEGAS PILGRIM]

Much as I don't like Allegiant, I don't think they can be faulted here--unforeseen delays happen all the time--I got to Las Vegas airport 2.5 hours before departure, and due to a ridiculous long line at TSA, barely made the flight. Wouldn't have been anyone's fault but mine, in hindsight, but I can see how you'd feel ticked. Bottom line flying anywhere, on any airline (maybe excepting Westjet on a good day) can be a crap shoot--ORD was shut down for 4 days due to weather as I was coming back--one family of 6 was stuck there for 4 days with 0 compensation by United, not a bargain airline, to be sure. Like they say--you pays your money, you takes your chances nowadays, alas.

[canadascouponeer]

I am so sorry that happened to you, have you tried to contact them for any form of refund? I had a similar situation happen to me, I'll make the story quick. Long story short, me and my mother went to the WRONG airport. We had no idea that there were two airports in that area. Looking back I cannot believe how much of an idiot I was for not double checking. Anyways, by the time we cabbed to the right airport (and having to pay $80, clearly the driver took advantage of how desperate we were) the plane had just left. It was nothing short of devastating. We were trapped there since we took the Greyhound there and we didn't know what to do. THANKFULLY (to this day, I am so thankful) a man that had gotten off the plane that I had missed, was waiting for his son to drive him back to Toronto (where we also live) and he offered to give us a ride back. I still cannot believe that people with genuinely good hearts as his even exist. Allegiant Air gave us a $200 credit which was so nice of them since the tickets were only about $270 total.

[lghend]

I booked a flight with them for this coming March...THEN I did my research, lol. Yes, horrible reviews, mostly about the contracted staff at the airports. Calling them results in 45 minute plus waits, emailing results in 24 to 48 hour wait time to hear back. Customer service doesn't seem to be their strong point. I guess I will see for myself when I fly.

[sun_shine]

Sorry that this happened to you! My mom lives in the Niagara area (Canada side) and usually flies out of Buffalo. However, even living so close she usually drives over the night before because you never know what kind of border delays will occur, and then if you get pulled into customs for any reason (unfortunately, it happens, sometimes for no apparent reason) you can be held up for an hour or two, which can easily cause you to miss your flight. I know it costs a bit extra for a night in a hotel, but many airport area hotels will package a deal with park and fly, and you can end up only spending an extra $20 for the hotel room, depending on where you stay. We're actually going on a cruise in a couple of weeks and flying out of Detroit, and again, we've got a hotel room booked and will head over the night before.