Allegiant Flyers Needed!!! About This Page:

[Tiki4]

First of all, let me explain that we are not world travelers. DH and I were last on a plane 20 years ago . We have booked our rooms and made our ADRs but are currently still seeking air tickets for February 2010. The closest airport (1 hour away) fly non-stop with Allegiant.......sounds great, huh. The trouble is the airfare is much more that I want at the moment (299.99 one way) There will be 4 of us traveling (DH, myself, DD-12, DS-9) and really would love to fly out of this airport as then the drive after our trip would be managable. Last year, when I was watching, the airfare tended to drop the closer to the dates of flying. Is this a regular practice of Allegiant or was that just a fluke??? (and they offered some winter get-a-way rates). I am scared the prices are only going to climb but we just can't afford that kind of price. The next closest airport would be 4 hours away. Should we hold out a while longer to see if they come out with better February rates or should we be looking elsewhere?? I had heard that booking 3 months out is the best time to book..........is that true??

Any advice would be great!!!!!

[Sue M.]

How much of a difference in price is the airport 4 hrs away? We make the drive to an airport 3 hrs away, stay over night at a Marriott Towneplace or Springhill that lets us leave the car their free, also stay over when we come back, and it's still cheaper then flying from our airport in town. But that just may be the diff from flying out of Canada vs. driving to Seattle! I have a fare from Southwest RT from Seattle to MCO for $250. I booked it in Sept.

[Tiki4]

Well, there are several different airlines that fly out of Minneapolis but few are non-stop. I did see that Sun Country had very good fares but we would then be leaving a day before schedule and actually the night before that as the flight leaves very early. Have not checked out Hotel rates to see what the cost would be to stay that one night but the airfare is cheaper. We may have to consider it and just add a day to the vacation........would rather not have that drive home though. Thanks for the thought!!!

[jenjen1127]

OMG why is it so much from where you live? I checked out that airline leaving from Allentown, PA to Orlando and it was onl $68.99 each way. Granted it doesn't fly everyday of the week but you could always adjust your vacation based on such a good deal for airfare. The only reason I didn't go with them is because it is a one and a half hour drive to Allentown for me and I just didn't feel like leaving our car there for 9 days. Newark is only 20 minutes away and we take car service. In my opinion, I think you should check other airlines. That's a crazy price.

[Tiki4]

I have no idea why they are so high right now. Last year they ranged between 89.00-135.00. It is !!! I keep thinking they have to come down in order to be competitive but it is making me . I am ready to buy those darn tickets now but I will probably wait a few weeks yet to see what happens. If the prices don't change, I will start making changes to fly out of Minneapolis. It just dosn't seem right!!!

[heidi75]

Are you planning on renting a car? Just a reminder that Allegiant flies into Sanford Airport not MCO. Therefore you need to factor in the cost of a rental or towncar(which is much more from Sanford than MCO).

[tink4evernky]

That is really high! We flew Allegiant this spring and round trip was @ $160 per person. I booked them a little over a month in advance, but only because it was sort of a last minute trip. I hope that the price does come down. And as stated above keep in mind the cost of transfers from Sanford to Disney.

[Tiki4]

Actually, yes, we are renting a car as we were hoping to fly into Sanford on the 13th, rent a car and drive down to West Palm Beach to visit DH's sister and head back to Orlando and into WDW on the 15th. We may have to change these plans and skip seeing the sister-in-law if something doesn't give pretty soon. I am trying to be patient but it is hard for me to be at the mercy of someone or something else................control freak!!! I even emailed Allegiant to ask if they were planning any winter get away fares but they were pretty vague about it. One day at a time, I guess.......lots of prayers and pixies!!!

[cdnmousegirls]

We are flying from Minneapolis on NW for 209 return. We are doing a 7 hr drive from Canada. It is saving us about $1500

[SOmommy]

I flew allegient last May from LAX to Montana and booked at a great rate about 1 month ahead. I noticed that the fares changed frequently so I booked as soon as I saw a price I was comfortable with. I was also flexible with my days which made a big difference. My advice is to keep your eyes open but have a back up plan in case the prices don't drop as you hope.

[MGW]

I just booked my Feb airfare with Allegiant last night, the flight down had dropped to 29.00 ! The flight back is still 59.00 but since it is President's Day I didn't think it would drop any more.

Allegiant does sometimes drop fares for Jan and Feb in Nov and Dec. But you just never know.

I was freaking out about not having my airfare booked yet, I was afraid the plane was going to fill up (with only 2 flights a week, you just never know!) Last night when I booked, they tried to sell me the first 3 seats in the first row, so I don't think the plane was full .

Ok, I know that wasn't that helpful, but my vote is give it just a few more weeks to see if a sale comes up around Thanksgiving.

[Tiki4]

Originally Posted by MGW

I just booked my Feb airfare with Allegiant last night, the flight down had dropped to 29.00 ! The flight back is still 59.00 but since it is President's Day I didn't think it would drop any more.

Allegiant does sometimes drop fares for Jan and Feb in Nov and Dec. But you just never know.

I was freaking out about not having my airfare booked yet, I was afraid the plane was going to fill up (with only 2 flights a week, you just never know!) Last night when I booked, they tried to sell me the first 3 seats in the first row, so I don't think the plane was full .

Ok, I know that wasn't that helpful, but my vote is give it just a few more weeks to see if a sale comes up around Thanksgiving.

for you!!! That is great!!! I can only hope to get a rate like that!! I am biding my time and being patient.......I will panic come Christmas!!!! Thanks for the news....it gives me hope!!!

[Nala]

Having used Allegiant a few times, I can say with authority, that you never know what they will do. Besides their fares, we have had other issues with Allegiant.

One trip we had booked, they changed our flight time by an entire day. With no flexibility in our schedule, we were left demanding a refund (that they told us would take six weeks to get ) and scrambled to find another flight on another airline, which of course came at a much higher price. Another trip, three weeks before our scheduled flights, they grounded all flights out of the airport in our town and rebooked us out of another airport, three hours away. AND THEY NEVER NOTIFIED US OF THE CHANGE!

The last time we used them was May of 07, when just for grins, I checked out their fares. I found an inbound flight for $19 (no, that is not a typo) and a return flight for $59. But, that was on a Friday and the outbound flight was the following Friday. With only a week to plan, we threw together a spur of the moment trip to WDW.

I really can't give you any advise of what to do, because with any airline, you never know what will happen with the fares. Sometimes they drop, sometimes they go through the roof. It really is a crap shoot. Our last trip this past June, I played the waiting game with AirTran and it didn't work out. I was hoping for a fare of between $600 and $800 for the three of us, but as time went on, the prices went up and up and up. When $1400 was the best I could do, I had to look at flights out of Chicago. It was three hours away, and required an overnight stay, but was much cheaper in the long run. SW got our business that trip.

So, long post short, I would wait it out for a few weeks, but also be researching other options. If you see a good fare, or even one that is not all that great, but you can live with it, BOOK IT!! You never know how long it will last.

I feel your pain. Waiting for and finding affordable airfare can be so stressful! that you are able to get a great rate.

[Tiki4]

Originally Posted by Nala

So, long post short, I would wait it out for a few weeks, but also be researching other options. If you see a good fare, or even one that is not all that great, but you can live with it, BOOK IT!! You never know how long it will last.

I feel your pain. Waiting for and finding affordable airfare can be so stressful! that you are able to get a great rate.

for the pixie and the good advice. I have been researching other other airlines from the other airport (3 1/2 hours away) and Sun County or Airtran have good rates but just like you it would mean an overnight the night before and also extra time off from work for the travel the day before. So far, Allegiant has not budged on their rate from where I am looking but I am hoping they come out with some winter get a way rates soon. Time will tell!! We are determined to get ourselves to WDW for our dream trip but we just don't want to pay through the nose!! Thanks again!!!

[cranky duck]

Try using a search engine like "Bing"
I just searched from MSP to MCO
and found fares below $300 RT
also prices are coming down
A good time to fly also is Wendsday/Thursday
We normally leave on a Wendsday and fly out the following Wendsday flights are alot cheaper
I hope you let us know how you make out!