Articles in the Flight Reviews series take a look at the onboard product and service offered by airlines across a variety of aircraft types and routes. These first-person reports review a particular flight — a unique combination of factors including operating airline, aircraft type, route and class of service. They are a snapshot of a moment in time and not necessarily representative of the travel experience you may have with a given airline on this or another route in the future.
In April 2018, more than six years ago, I wrote an article entitled "I Would Never Fly Allegiant Air and Neither Should You." Well, here we are — This is a review of an Allegiant flight that I took. So, what happened?
Allegiant became a better airline. The carrier retired its ancient fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft that had experienced repeated mechanical failures, and it purchased a bunch of Airbus A319 and A320 airplanes. The carrier has also taken delivery of eleven brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, with one more on the way. With that transformation, I felt confident giving the airline a try on a recent trip from Knoxville to St. Louis. Here are some basic flight details to get started with the review:
Airline/Flight: Allegiant Air, G4 1396
Route: TYS-BLV — Knoxville, Tennessee to Belleville, Illinois (MidAmerica St. Louis Airport)
Flight Date: June 19, 2025
Scheduled Departure/Arrival: 5:59 p.m. / 6:10 p.m.
Scheduled Flight Length: 1 hour, 11 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Registration: N292NV
Seat: 03F
The carrier is labeled an "ultra low cost carrier" by industry watchers and they do offer airfares priced significantly lower than the "big four" — American, Delta, Southwest and United. Allegiant's lowest fares do not permit seat selection and limit travelers to a small personal item (my backpack was OK), and so they often make up the difference with fees for these ancillary services. If you plan your trip thoughtfully, it is still possible to save money — just as I did on this trip.
How I booked the flight (and how you can save $22 on every Allegiant flight)
I needed a one-way flight from Knoxville to St. Louis, and there were a couple of options that stood out: an American Airlines flight with a connection for $269 or 9,000 AAdvantage miles, or a $63 fare on a nonstop flight with Allegiant Air.
Each of Allegiant's fares include a $22 Electronic Carrier Usage Charge, which is applied to tickets booked on the Allegiant website, mobile app or by phone. You can avoid this fee by purchasing a ticket at the airport, but the carrier sells tickets during very limited hours — at some airports, for only a couple of hours each week.
At some airports, including MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Allegiant does not sell tickets at all. Knowing this, I called Allegiant and, after a hold time of just over 30 minutes, I informed the representative that I wanted to buy a ticket at the Belleville Airport, but could not due to no times being listed. The agent accepted my booking and waived the $22 fee — turning that $63 fare into a $41 fare.
Theoretically, any passenger could do the same: Find an airport where tickets are not sold (including Boston, Las Vegas, Newark and Orlando, among others) and contact customer service to purchase a ticket. If tickets are not sold at the airport where you would like to turn up and purchase them, the $22 ticketing fee should be waived. Since tickets are not sold at my hometown airport, I do not foresee ever paying the $22 carrier surcharge. That makes Allegiant's already-cheap tickets a deal that may be too good to pass up.
Avoiding incidental fees on Allegiant Air
According to Allegiant's Q1 2025 investor filing, passengers on average spend an additional $79.28 on ancillary services such as seat selection and baggage fees. That can quickly eliminate the potential savings offered by the ultra low cost carrier's bargain basement fares and, as my grandmother would have said, "that's how they get you!"
On my trip from Knoxville to Belleville (St. Louis), I did not need to travel with a bag — only my backpack, which qualifies as the free "personal item" and contains a few supplies, charging cables and my laptop. That eliminated significant fees — carry-on and checked bags on this route start at $35 and $38, respectively (when purchased at booking) and rise to $70 after booking and $75 when purchased at the airport.
Seat selection fees on this route ranged from $10 for a middle seat to $51 for an extra legroom bulkhead seat. At check-in, I was automatically assigned seat 19C, an aisle seat, which I would have had to pay $15 to reserve in advance. At the airport, I was moved to an available seat in row 3 due to the fact that I use an aisle chair to board. I paid no fees for seat selection, and my entire out of pocket expense for this flight was just $41.
Allegiant Air Airbus A320 Seating Layout
Allegiant Air has two versions of the Airbus A320, one with 180 seats and another with 186 seats. I was on the aircraft with 180 seats, which contains extra legroom seats in rows 1 through 5. The 186-seat airframe does not feature the extra legroom seating configuration.
In row 3 (I sat in the window seat, 3F), space in the extra legroom seat was plentiful. On all Allegiant Aircraft, seats are bare-bones — seat padding is limited and the armrests and tray tables are extremely small.
Allegiant also operates the Airbus A319 with 156 seats and a number of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with 190 seats. The Boeing 737 features extra legroom seats in rows 1 through 3, and in seats 4DEF. Power in the form of USB-A and USB-C ports is provided at every seat on the Boeing 737 only; there is no access to power on the Airbus A319 and A320 planes. There is no wi-fi or inflight entertainment provided on any Allegiant aircraft.
While the limited comfort and connectivity was manageable on a short flight of about hour, I would think twice about flying Allegiant on a longer itinerary.
Wheelchair Assistance on this Allegiant Air flight
After booking my flight on the phone, I visited the Allegiant website to make a request for wheelchair assistance. The tool was simple enough to use, but I was forced to decline extras (baggage fees and seat selection) again before my assistance request was saved.
I requested the aisle chair to my seat and alerted the airline that I was bringing my power wheelchair via the web form.
While I checked-in online and downloaded a mobile boarding pass (the airline charges $5 for a paper boarding pass), I still stopped by the airport check-in desk to confirm my assistance request. There I was given a gate-check tag for my wheelchair.
Though my flight was delayed by about an hour, boarding went smoothly and I was boarded before all other passengers. Staff acted with professionalism and asked me how they could best assist me.
Cabin crew were kind throughout the flight, and checked-in on me before departure, during the flight and after arrival in Belleville. My expectation on all flights is that my wheelchair be returned in less than 30 minutes (with the right equipment, training and attention to detail, it can be done in 15 or less), and the ground crew at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport did not disappoint — my wheelchair was waiting for me in the jet bridge 16 minutes after arrival.
Final Thoughts
My first flight with Allegiant Air was relatively hassle-free, staff were (mostly) friendly and my wheelchair was returned without damage. That's a win in my book! While Allegiant will never be my preferred carrier, my perspective has clearly shifted in a major way from my earlier vow "never" to fly on their airplanes.
Delivering an accessible air travel experience comes down to a few major factors, which I have catalogued here:
Preboarding before all other passengers: Yes ✅
Individual safety briefing after boarding: No ❌
Return of wheelchair to aircraft door: Yes ✅
Prompt return of wheelchair on arrival: 16 minutes 😊
Safe handling of wheelchair: Yes ✅
I have to admit that I expected Allegiant to let me down — I thought I would fly them once and say "never again," but that assumption was wrong. I was able to to preboard, received prompt assistance and my wheelchair was returned without damage. Perhaps that should not have been a surprise, given that Allegiant claimed second place in the ranking of airlines least likely to damage wheelchairs. The carrier delivered on just about everything it was supposed to and I left a happy customer — when the price and schedule is right, I would definitely fly them again.
One final anecdote: Stevie and Robert have flown this same route round-trip on two separate occasions, and they had no negative experiences to report!
