Allegiant Air’s direct flight savings outweigh delays

Allegiant airline in Omaha flying to Tampa

In working on a review of our flight with Allegiant Air to the Tampa, Florida, area, I had to balance my dislike of departure delay times with the idea of saving money on tickets. More on this later.

When we travel, as most people know, we like to take advantage of the time we have and tend to pack in a lot of attractions or interests. In the case of our Tampa trip, we had a short weekend scheduled – leaving for Tampa Thursday and returning to Omaha Sunday morning. Allegiant Air was perfect for us, as the airline offers a direct flight from Omaha to the Tampa area (actually St. Pete-Clearwater airport). We knew Thursday would be the shortest day available for sightseeing, so we planned some light visits and to take in dinner and a show.

Our flight out of Omaha was scheduled to depart at about 11:15 a.m. Scheduled being the key word there. We arrived at the airport early, around 8:30 a.m., due partly to our wanting to be there early and the need for our daughter (who was our chauffeur) to be at work for a meeting by 9.

Allegiant has one flight scheduled between Omaha and St. Pete-Clearwater. The flight leaves on a Friday and comes back on Monday. This schedule changed from our trip, which was a Thursday/Sunday combination.

So, as I said, our flight was scheduled to depart about 11:15. We cleared TSA. I swear I am marked in their records as needing additional searches. I have been searched beyond the body scan equipment almost every time we travel. Once, it was my fault. I forgot to remove a baseball cap. Instead of reminding me, I get the metal detector and a pat down. The cause this time? A pill I left in my shorts pocket. Yes, a pill. A pill that helps keep me healthy. A simple small white pill. Apparently, it looks dangerous to screening equipment. The agent actually asked me if I had cleared everything from my pockets. I said yes, but then put my hands in my pockets and found the pill. I took it out and showed him. Regardless, spread ‘em! After that extra pat down, I was approved to move on. I even left my ball cap at home for this trip!

So, we had plenty of time to kill, err, spend reading the internet (when it worked) on our phones. Note to the Epply Airfield leadership – please improve your internet and WiFi.

As what seemed like the reasonable boarding time (30 minutes before take-off) came AND went, no plane at the gate. We had a crew member near the gate. She then said something over the PA that none of us could understand (PA system was garbled). Someone finally asked her, and our plane was delayed until 11:30. OK, still not bad. We likely take off about noon or so, and still will be in Tampa at a decent time. 11:30 a.m. came AND went. 11:45 came AND went.

The crew member advised us again that the flight was delayed. Someone asked for a reason, but she didn’t know.

Omaha Eppley Airport

Finally, the flight arrived – at about 12:30 p.m. The passengers disembarked fairly quickly. We were then allowed to board. Lisa and I had seats together. She had checked us in 24 hours before the SCHEDULED flight time. We took off about 1:15 p.m., so the delay was about 2 hours after the scheduled time.

View out the window of the plane

The pilot apologized to passengers for the delays. He explained a rain storm delayed the initial take-off from St. Pete-Clearwater. Then, they needed to fix a piece of equipment before our departure. The pilot kept us informed along the way of where we were in the air.

Fluffy clouds out of window of Allegiant plane

The flight was pleasant. The plane – a MD80 – was spacious enough to relax during the flight. It was a smooth flight. The attendants checked with people reguylarly to see if anyone needed anything. The staff was very friendly – from ticket counter, gate staff and the air crew.

On board the Allegiant airline flight on way to Tampa

We were actually OK on being able to do the things we had planned after landing. Our dinner reservations at 6:30 were the only thing that truly worried me. We were going to sit stage side for the nightly Flamenco dance show at Columbia Restaurant (more on that visit in an upcoming post).

Drinks and snacks cost extra on Allegiant Air. That is one of the reasons they offer lower airfares. If you want to purchase items during the flight, sodas are about $2 per 12-oz. can (cheaper than the $3.29 per bottle I paid at the airport for one 20-oz. soda). Snack packages can be bought for as low as $4. Alcohol costs extra and is a cash-only transaction.

SUGGESTION: Bring your own snacks from home. You can bring empty water bottles through TSA (unless, probably, you’re me. That will likely result in another search). You can also buy things from kiosks and airport vendors after you clear TSA.

I would have been better off buying a soda on the flight. I dozed off for most of the flight to Tampa. I ended up leaving a mostly-filled bottle on my seat after we landed.

Getting off Allegiant air flight

Once we landed, everything ran smoothly. Lisa went to get the rental car (she had booked it) and I went for the luggage. The rental car counters are near the luggage carousels, so that is very helpful. The cars are in assigned parking spots in the parking lot, which helped tremendously. We were probably on the road within 30 minutes after landing. Not bad. It took about 30 minutes to get from the airport to Ybor City (near downtown Tampa).

Landing in Tampa via Allegiant airlines

So, fast forward to Sunday (we had a great time in the Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater area and will share the stories in a series of upcoming posts): I barely slept the night before, so we would be up at 4 a.m. and to the airport by 5:30 a.m. I didn’t want to miss our flight. We arrived about 5:30 and checked in the rental car. It was super easy.

Then, we checked our luggage. There was a line, but it moved smoothly. Then, back to TSA. Guess what? I was patted down again. Why? Because my laptop had to be checked by TSA…for explosive chemical residue. What about me screams potential bad guy?!

We enjoyed a nice breakfast (for an airport fast food place) and read the internet (no WiFi issues here).

Our plane was already on the ground. Departure time was about 8:30 a.m. We started boarding about 8ish. Everyone was on the plane and ready to go before 8:30 a.m. Lisa and I discussed how empty the plane was, maybe half full. Oops. 8:30 came. AND went. A few stragglers came aboard. Then, we sat. And sat. And sat. More people came aboard. Even more. It was now 9 a.m., and people were still boarding.

Finally, after about half the passengers arrived on the plane AFTER the scheduled departure time, we pulled away from the gate. We took off at 9:20 a.m. – 50 minutes after the scheduled departure time.

Rewind to the beginning of this post…I have tried to balance departure delay times and saving money on tickets. My decision? I side with saving money. I compared the price of our flight with another discount airline. Allegiant’s ticket prices were about half of what the other airline charged for tickets only. I used the same days for flight and similar flight times. For the other airline, I even went with their cheapest prices. Allegiant won the cost battle.

Now, if you add in the extra costs – inflight treats, checked luggage ($25) and seat reassignment (if necessary – $12/seat) – Allegiant still wins.

Overall, we enjoyed the flights and the trip’s location. We would fly Allegiant again. As a matter-of-fact, I told Lisa that if we were to fly into the central Florida area again, that would be the best route to take. Our rental car price was excellent. And Tampa is only about 2 hours from one of my bucket list sites – Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

Again, while I was offput by the departure delays, we didn’t have a connection to catch anywhere, so they didn’t really hurt us. I know other people who were affected by delays (including 5-6 hours). Still, they have said they’d fly Allegiant again.

Allegiant also flies to the San Francisco-Oakland. I can see catching a flight there, too.

Key things to remember when flying Allegiant Air:

  • Check-in as early as possible (up to 24 hours before scheduled flight time). Print tickets at home, as printing tickets at the airports costs $5 per ticket.
  • Arrive at the airport earlier than you normally do. That helps everyone related to the flight – the airline crew and fellow passengers. You can’t expect to just show up and catch a flight.
  • You are allowed one carry-on and a personal item (such as a purse for women). Checked luggage is $25 per bag and has a 40-lbs. limit. Anything over that will result in extra charges.
  • Drinks and snacks inflight are extra – ranging from $2 and up.
  • No inflight entertainment or WiFi. Make sure you have movies or shows loaded on the iPad (trust us on that one).
  • Know you are flying direct, so plan your arrival events accordingly, in case of departure delays.

That said, we recommend flying Allegiant Air. The cost savings show why the airline is a challenger in the discounted airline segment. Let’s hope Allegiant stays in Omaha and can expand its destinations.

For more information on Allegiant Air and its destinations, please visit www.allegiantair.com.

Disclaimer: We were invited to fly to the Tampa area complimentary of Allegiant Air in return for a review. However, the views and opinions are ours.