Allegient Air to Honolulu reviews wanted

[emuangel]

My husband and I are cruising on the Pride of America in August from/to Honolulu. Flight from Albuquerque to Honolulu are high, so we looked into flying from Albuquerque to Phoenix, staying the night and then flying on Allegient Air to Honolulu and doing the same on the return (it is still cheaper to do this then a round trip flight from Albuquerque to Honolulu). We've concerned about how Allegient Airlines is, as we have never flown with them before. Please all reviews and information on them are welcome. Thanks!

 

I also posted this to the Ask a Cruise Question board, as I was unsure of where the best place would be.

[CruiserBruce]

As mentioned on your other post, the Cruise Air board is the best place for your research.

[cruzn single]

Tripadvisor also has some reviews of Allegiant--mostly bad. When we lived in Las Cruces we went to Phoenix, stayed the night, and then flew Hawaiian to HNL. Hawaiian is GREAT.

[Keith1010]

As CruiserBruce said, I would post this on the Cruise Air Board.

 

Keith

[Astro Flyer]

Tripadvisor also has some reviews of Allegiant--mostly bad. When we lived in Las Cruces we went to Phoenix' date=' stayed the night, and then flew Hawaiian to HNL. Hawaiian is GREAT.[/quote']

Hawaiian is a good option but since Allegiant has a limited number of aircraft if one of them has a maintenance issue it could delay getting a replacement aircraft. Problems with other start up low cost airlines to Hawaii have ended in failure leaving some passengers with worthless tickets. Obviously I have no way to know if this would happen with Allegiant but it's the main reason after considering them I wouldn't fly with Allegiant.

 

Also there are many extra fees Allegiant adds to the cost of the ticket unlike Hawaiian with only baggage fees & they even provide complimentary meals.

[Budget Queen]

My sister flies Allegiant to Florida. BUT, she isn't doing a cruise. You have to be willing to MISS your cruise, since this airline, cancels, with NO options but a refund. They have NO interline agreements, so be prepared for very costly walk up tickets if this happens.

[Astro Flyer]

My sister flies Allegiant to Florida. BUT, she isn't doing a cruise. You have to be willing to MISS your cruise, since this airline, cancels, with NO options but a refund. They have NO interline agreements, so be prepared for very costly walk up tickets if this happens.

I'll add your sister's experience to the reasons why I won't fly Allegiant. :eek:

[kapoho2]

I have not heard anything positive since Allegiant started service to Hawaii. Use Hawaiian Airlines, if possible. They offer a wonderful service on new or newer planes. You will feel like you are on vacation and on your way to Hawaii as soon as you enter the plane.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I live about 5 miles from the airport that Allegiant flies from in Phoenix. I would hesitate to fly them to Hawaii, even though they would save me a bundle in parking fees. First of all, the airport is NOT in Phoenix, so you would have to fly to Phoenix on Allegiant or have a very costly cab ride to change from one airport to another. The hotels near the Mesa airport are very limited with no services in walking distance. Cabs out here are not plentiful either. I would agree that Hawaiian Airlines is my airline of choice to Hawaii.

[cr8tiv1]

Be very aware of Allegiant. I have considered Allegiant on several occasions but I never had to be anywhere on any particular day. Here are two events with reference to Allegiant and Hawaii:

 

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/181289321.html?id=181289321

 

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20130309_Hundreds_of_Allegiant_Air_passengers_stranded_at_airport.html?id=196724241

 

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20130402_Allegiant_Air_to_cut_flights_to_Hawaii.html?id=201177471

 

If I were you, I would use Hawaiian Airlines. They have a high on-time record and I only fly them to the islands (at least 3 times a year).

 

Renee (displaced local girl)

[Ohana Travel]

i live in hawaii, and have flown allegiant. my trip was so messed up that i have a $150 credit and i still don't know if i would ever fly allegiant again. i certainly wouldn't if timing mattered. if i have an extra week on both sides of the trip, i might take advantage of it. but if i had anything i wanted to do (a cruise) there is NO WAY i would go allegiant.

don't forget the added luggage fees $35 for a checked and $25 for a carry-on. (which you can get around if your carry-on doesn't have wheels and is small)

as previous posters have said, hawaiian is the BEST airline to hawaii.

[emuangel]

Thanks for all the replies. After looking up reviews and the answers here we have decided not to risk it and will be looking for flights with other airlines.

[jaybird from SC]

We have flown Allegiant to Ft. Lauderdale and to Orlando with no problems...BUT they only have one flight a day. They also have a weight limit of only 40 pounds and even though their fares are low, they charge extra for everything. You are very fortunate if you are ever able to get a phone call through to them if you have questions. Would I fly them locally again.. probably so. Would we fly to Hawaii with them? Probably not.

[sailingsusie]

My husband and I are cruising on the Pride of America in August from/to Honolulu. Flight from Albuquerque to Honolulu are high, so we looked into flying from Albuquerque to Phoenix, staying the night and then flying on Allegient Air to Honolulu and doing the same on the return (it is still cheaper to do this then a round trip flight from Albuquerque to Honolulu). We've concerned about how Allegient Airlines is, as we have never flown with them before. Please all reviews and information on them are welcome. Thanks!

 

I also posted this to the Ask a Cruise Question board, as I was unsure of where the best place would be.

 

We have flown on Alligent 3 times to Vegas, we have never got there the time we were supposed to. Twice, 2 hours late departing, the 3rd time they cancelled our flight completely. We flew 5 hours later. They are very inexpensive, but you get what you pay for. I would never use them for a cruise unless I was going a day early. We dont even use them for Vegas anymore, they now have so many extra fees, there is not even any savings.

[We Go Cruise Brah]

I've flown Allegiant from Hawaii to Vegas. Its definitely a budget airline, the seats dont even recline! The planes are all old refurbished ones. They did get us there on time and the price was amazingly cheap, but I'm not sure if I'll fly with them again.

[cr8tiv1]

This was in the local newspaper recently:

 

Flying Allegiant Air has become a matter of survival as far as its flight attendants are concerned.

 

Route suspensions in seven of the nine markets that fly to Hawaii, aircraft mechanical delays that have stretched as long as 52 hours, and two years of union contract talks without a resolution have prompted the Transport Workers Union, which represents more than 600 flight attendants at Allegiant, to put together an Allegiant Delay Survival Kit.

 

Each kit includes sunglasses, a notepad and pen, a souvenir T-shirt, 52-hour playing cards, an all-day airplane lollipop "and a lei — for your de-lei." It even includes a preaddressed postcard for passengers to send to Allegiant CEO Maurice Gallagher Jr. to let him know how late their flight was in arriving.

 

The shirt includes a message on the front that reads: "I flew Allegiant to Hawaii and all I got was … a lousy 52-hour delay."

 

On the back of the shirt is a website, WillAllegiantBeThere.org.

 

In March, more than 1,700 Allegiant passengers traveling between Honolulu and the mainland were delayed as much as 52 hours because of airplane mechanical problems that stretched over a four-day period.

 

I am considering Allegiant for a flight within the continent. I always choose Hawaiian Air when I go home.

 

Renee (displaced local girl)

[germanyboy]

We live in ABQ and flew US Airways, Albuquerque to Phoenix to Honolulu, last March in one day. didn't think it was so bad on price.

[henny]

My parents are in Hawaii right now having flown Allegiant from Phoenix/Mesa to Honolulu. I was worried about them getting out on time so I had been tracking the ontime departures for a week or so before and they seemed to be taking off on time or pretty close to it. Their flight took off on time and was scheduled to arrive early. phew. But then they had something happen and they landed in Las Vegas with emergency equipment lining the runway. Turns out they had hit a bird so they had to land and get another airplane. They ended up getting to Honolulu about 4 hours late, which really isn't too bad considering. And hitting a bird is not something you can really fault Allegiant for. We'll see how the flight home goes in a few days.

[Linsuesue]

Henny-how did you track the departure times? Is it on the Allegiant website? I'm flying out of the Phoenix Mesa airport to Honolulu this June. My husband and friends have flown Allegiant quite a few times with no problems. Granted-buying the tickets with all of the add ons is a pain. I was tracking the prices to Honolulu for quite some time before I settled on Allegiant. The Mesa Gateway airport is so much closer to our home than Sky Harbor. Hands down, Allegiant was the cheapest. Even with adding the price of bulkhead seats, priority boarding, 1 carry on bag and 1 checked bag, and taxes-my friend and I are paying $300 each way-Phoenix to Honolulu-nonstop.

[Linsuesue]

Now I am going to join the ranks of people who suggest you not fly on Allegiant-especially to Hawaii. On the trip there last week, I was the only one who didn't get my suitcase. Talked to a ramp guy who was down by the baggage carousel and he said all the bags were off the plane-no need to check-that was his job and he unloaded all the bags... He sent us upstairs to the Allegiant counter. Big surprise-no one was there! I spotted a flight attendant from our flight and asked if she could help us. She went in the office behind the Allegiant desk, told them about my missing suitcase, and said they would be right out. 15 minutes of waiting, and nobody came out. We rounded up a security guard and got him to go back inside of their office. A woman came out and said I would have to fill out a paper about my missing luggage. She didn't even try to find it first. I told her I had a claim check number so she decided she could make a copy of that. She called downstairs and the same ramp guy said there were 2 suitcases so he brought them upstairs. Neither one was mine. Now the Allegiant woman said she would call the Phoenix airport to find out if my bag was there. Surprise number two-no one answered the phones at the Phoenix Mesa Gateway airport because they were already gone! I guess once their flight leaves, they leave. I asked the Allegiant woman to call that airport and see if anybody there could help. She promptly told me that they don't have those phone numbers-they only have Allegiant numbers. I had to start filling out a paper for missing luggage-frantic that I was leaving on the Pride of America the next morning without my big suitcase. Finally, the ramp baggage handler came up the elevator with my suitcase-He found it "outside." The woman was put out that I had a problem she had to deal with and the baggage handler was so sure he didn't do anything wrong that I was just lucky that my suitcase was found. This whole ordeal took about an hour and a half. Now don't get me started on our return flight yesterday that was delayed for 7 hours. That flight was a new nightmare. No more Allegiant for me!!!

[Astro Flyer]

Mahalo for sharing your experience & further proof that as we say in Hawaii it would be lolo (crazy) to fly Allegiant if it's necessary to be anywhere on time. ;)

[Linsuesue]

Love the lolo reference! As much as we loved Honolulu,, it wasn't that fun hanging around the airport all day. Finally, around 4:00, Allegiant brought out sodas and water for us and then gave us all $16 of vouchers to spend on food or whatever we wanted at the airport. The plane that originally was supposed to leave at 12:35, was delayed to 1:50, had a broken cockpit window and we didn't leave until about 8:00 p.m. I was amazed how calm our group stayed and how few needed to get transfers to other airlines or made plans to stay in Honolulu a couple of days longer until Tuesday-the next Allegiant flight to Phoenix..

[emuangel]

Thanks so much for all the responses. We booked through American Airlines instead.

[Astro Flyer]

Tonight's news said that Allegiant is laying off half of their Hawaii based flight attendants...that doesn't sound encouraging for flights to Hawaii. :eek:

 

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=22747095

[Linsuesue]

First we had heard that Allegiant wasn't going to have Hawaii flights 12 months a year-only during the peak tourist times. Now this is the latest article about the Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport that Allegiance Airline uses:

 

Frontier, Allegiant ending routes from Gateway

 

Allegiant still tied to Mesa, just no more Hawaii flights; Mesa mayor says Frontier issue on airline, not airport

 

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport

Less than a year after starting its route, Frontier Airlines will discontinue its direct route from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway to Denver later this year.

 

Gateway public information officer Brian Sexton wrote in an email the airline, which started its daily route to the Colorado hub — the 10th busiest airport in the world in 2010 according to Airports Council International — in November, will discontinue the route this winter. Frontier corporate communications manager Kate O’Malley said the airline decided to discontinue the service due to “poor performance.”

 

“At this point, we do not have plans to return to [Mesa],” she said.

 

Mesa mayor and chair of the airport’s board of directors Scott Smith, however, emphasized “it’s not an airport issue but part of bigger issues going on with Frontier.” He added the airline is ending the route despite filling between 80 to 85 percent of those flights.

 

“Even without any active advertising, they were flying flights out that were nearly full,” he said.

 

The service out of Gateway is the second route to Denver Frontier closed in the past year. In July 2012, Inside Tucson Business reported the airline closed its direct route from Tucson to Denver.

 

Although the Frontier route will close, Sexton said Gateway expects Spirit Airlines to restore its service to Denver starting in November.

 

Frontier’s decision came in tandem with a decision made by Allegiant Air, Gateway’s primary commercial flight provider, to end its route from Gateway to Honolulu beginning in August. As with Frontier, Smith said the decision to end the direct route was focused on Allegiant end and isn’t limited to Mesa. Rather, Smith said all of Allegiant’s Honolulu routes — encompassing cities like Boise, Idaho and Stockton, Calif. — except for Las Vegas will end at least temporarily. Allegiant spokesperson Jessica Wheeler confirmed the airline is curtailing the route at other airports in an effort to keep up with its 90-percent capacity target for all flights.

 

Sexton expressed similar sentiments, and added Allegiant might resurrect the direct Honolulu flight in 2014, although Wheeler said Allegiant has not made a decision about when it might reboot the route.

 

“In the case of Honolulu, I think it’s less about us and more about Allegiant learning how to efficiently service the islands,” he said.

 

For Allegiant, Wheeler said cutting off service during non-peak seasons makes financial sense for the company, and is a trend it has done with routes in Florida and even with additional flights from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway.

 

“It’s common business practice we’ve been doing for quite a while,” she said.

 

She added Gateway has “just blown up” for Allegiant, which she said operates approximately 33 routes from the Mesa-based airport. That total does not include flights the company opens to cover high-volume travel seasons like the holiday season.

 

Despite what he called “bumps in the road,” Smith said Gateway has expanded the number of travelers it serves to 1.5 million, and expects the airport will continue to grow in the long run.

 

“We’ll find someone who can appreciate the opportunity,” he said.