Flight Review: Allegiant Air Flight G4 67: McAllen, TX (MFE) to Las Vegas, NV (LAS) in Economy Class (April 2022)
For many people, Allegiant is among the least loved airlines with a notorious penchant for delays and stingy flight scheduling. But when push comes to shove, does this bare-fare offering holds its own for the price? Sandy Soebakti investigates on a flight from Texas to Nevada.
Flight Review: Allegiant Air Flight G4 67: McAllen, TX (MFE) to Las Vegas, NV (LAS) in Economy Class (April 2022)
Highs: Friendly flight attendants, non-stop options from many non-hub cities, well maintained Aircraft and also fun snack and drinks on the menu.
Lows: Hard, non-reclinable seat. Beware if you fly for more than 3 hours it will be close to unbearable. No WiFi, in-seat power, or USB ports. Delayed.
Verdict: Allegiant airline is much better than Spirit when it comes to overall experience. It has a holiday vibe staying true to its business model of flying sunseekers from non-hub cities to sunny destinations.
Back Story: Allegiant Air Flight Review
I went to McAllen, Texas for a business trip and had a surprise visit to my friend, Felipe, who happened to be back in town after months of travel in Colombia. I had no clue about McAllen apart from being in the extreme south bordering Mexico (yes, you can literally walk to Reynosa from McAllen!) I was not planning to stay for more than two days in McAllen so I decided to fly to Las Vegas.
McAllen does not have a lot of non-stop options besides flying to other Texan hubs like IAH (Houston) for United or DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) for American. The price was insanely high on UA or AA (well above $1200.00) for a one way ticket to Las Vegas via IAH or DFW! I must admit that I was aware flying last minute could cost me, but was not expecting the price to be more expensive than my inbound flight into McAllen from Hong Kong via Doha and Dallas which took me more than 37 hours. Oh well. My eyes were glued to the only non-stop option provided by Allegiant Air. I have heard about Allegiant but was not too adventurous to try them. I was thinking- or let’s say, expecting- the experience to be similar to that of Spirit or Frontier, the other two low cost carriers in the US.
Flying non-stop always beats one stop, regardless reason is, so for me it was a no-brainer that I chose G4 which at that time (10th of April) cost around $169.00; pretty reasonable for a three hour flight and a fraction of the other options. The fare entitles you to one personal item, so I paid an additional $46 for what they call “Allegiant Bonus Bundle”, which includes a carry-on bag and free seat selection.
Ticket price: $240.00, bought on Allegiant app, paid with British Airways Credit Card.
Points accrual: None.
Security, Pre Flight and Boarding at McAllen International Airport (MFE)
I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott, McAllen Airport, located about 10 mins from the airport. As a Bonvoy Platinum Elite member, I was entitled to the usual perks like welcome bonus points, free breakfast, and also late check out at 4pm. My flight was leaving late at night so this really helped a lot.
MFE airport is a small regional airport with limited amenities and there were only two counters open for Allegiant’s LAS flight and AA’s flight to DFW. I checked in online with Allegiant’s app (which seems quite competent) and chose 26D as my seat for the night.
Security at MFE was a breeze. There were no long lines and it took me less than 5 minutes to get to the gate. I was actually eligible for a free trial for CLEAR, however I don't think if I need it at the moment. I can see it being useful when I'm flying from busy airports like LAX or JFK. There were gift shops and also a bar for passengers to pass the time near the gate area. Our flight departed from Gate 3, one of the six gates MFE airport operates.
View Gate 3 at MFE for Allegiant Air flight G4 67, MFE to LAS
It was almost 10:00pm and our departure was scheduled at 10:08pm, but no boarding announcement was made by the gate agents. Soon we learned our flight was delayed due to “mechanical”, as described by the gate agents. The actual time of departure was pushed to 11:20PM, more than an hour late, so I would be in LAS way past midnight.
Boarding was called by zones. I was seated towards the back of the A319 and this flight was packed. I said “hello” to the super friendly flight attendants and made my way towards the rear of the aircraft.
G4 Allegiant Air A319 Interior, Economy Seat and Inflight Service
G4 has 35 Airbus A319, 86 Airbus A320 and 10 more on order. This A319 was not particularly new. It was a non-winglet A319 with registration N337NV. Its first flight was in 2004, making it around 18 years old.
View of the Allegiant Air Airbus A319 from the gatehouse.
Allegiant’s A319 has 147 seats with the typical 3-3 configuration. It was a full house: there were no vacant seats on that flight to Las Vegas.
The seat looked similar to what is on offer for Spirit and Frontier: non-reclinable and a bit on the hard side in terms of comfort. Leg room was acceptable for me as I’m only 5’10 and the arm rest is moveable, making it easier if you ever score a whole row on an empty flight.
From a features perspective, the seat is very basic with no universal plug nor USB. Also WiFi is non-existent, which came as a surprise and a disappointment as I would expect all carriers in the US to at least some level of WiFi (the common format being a paid level and a free messaging version). The WiFi is useful for a longer flight across the country.
The inflight magazine (yes, a hard copy) is called “Sun Seeker”, emphasizing on Allegiant’s sun destinations angle. The content was actually pretty informative, with the inflight menu and a listing of Allegiant’s signature cocktail available for purchase.
The flight attendants did not switch the cabin light into sleep mode (it was quite late by cruising time) and instead left us with a slightly dimmed cabin. I did not know the reason why they did this as it’s almost a red-eye flight. No one seemed to complain.
The flight attendants came with their trolley with drinks and snacks available for purchase only. There is no complimentary offering. The service went very fast as most passengers were asleep. I still managed to have a good two hour nap on non-reclinable seat.
The lavatory was clean and well kept during the flight; expectations were met.
After almost three hours in the air, the captain made an announcement that we were descending into Harry Reid International airport in Las Vegas.
Landing and Conclusion: Allegiant Air Flight G4 67
View of the fully-occupied Allegiant Air Airbus A319
Before the flight, my friend in Las Vegas told me that Las Vegas was unusually windy so my flight would probably be delayed. He was right. Upon descending into Las Vegas, there was moderate turbulence and we could feel it even when we were about to touch down due to the very strong wind.
We finally touched down at 00:39 AM PDT, which was almost one hour behind schedule.
Overall, the flight met my expectations for a low-cost carrier, relative to price. You must be aware that everything on this type of airline will involve additional fees, but if you prepare for this by packing effectively and providing your own entertainment and sustenance, you will have a pleasant trip. The price was good for a three hour flight, and it could have been cheaper if I had booked even further in advance.
Editor’s note: This review was written by Sandy Soebakti for The Interior Review. The author was compensated by The Interior Review for this review. It was edited for clarity.
