Allegiant Air
- Thread starter ps99472
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or any Southeastern Asia airlines - their records have not been stellar in recent years
+1 Hawaiian Airlines
I recently flew on Hawaiian and was pleasantly surprised by their free meals and they even offered a complimentary cup of wine! They have friendly and young/attractive flight staff. Biggest downside is their baggage claim and check in at Honolulu is at the Interisland Terminal. This means a long walk from the gate or taking a free shuttle from the main terminal.
We have another 5 nights in Kauai, which is way too long on that boring island (i'm not an outdoorsy type) and our short time in Honolulu will be tied up with the wedding. Need to plan in 5 meals a day to hit all the eating spots. And no I'm not going to a luau!
There's a couple of outfits that does tours. We did one that was pretty fun. I'll have to look up the name.
In Waikiki, there's also some udon joint that's pretty yum. Marukame udon.
Edit: found it. Kipu ranch.http://m.yelp.com/biz/kipu-ranch-adventures-lihue
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Just as long as it's not Oceanic Air.
The Motor Court Company
Well-known member
irvinehomeowner said:
or any Southeastern Asia airlines - their records have not been stellar in recent years
The Motor Court Company
Well-known member
apparently this is a barebone airline
from Yelp
You Must Pay For:
-Checked Bag(s)
-Carry-On Bag(s)
-Drinks on plane
-Snacks on plane
-Food on plane
-A Blanket
-Seat Selection
-Print Ticket at Airport
Pros:
- CHEAP
Cons:
- They nickel and dime you
- Seats don't recline
- Either too cold or too hot in cabin
- No in-flight movie/tv
- No in-flight status updates (ETA)
- Lots of delays / often take shuttles to/from gates on tarmac
from Yelp
You Must Pay For:
-Checked Bag(s)
-Carry-On Bag(s)
-Drinks on plane
-Snacks on plane
-Food on plane
-A Blanket
-Seat Selection
-Print Ticket at Airport
Pros:
- CHEAP
Cons:
- They nickel and dime you
- Seats don't recline
- Either too cold or too hot in cabin
- No in-flight movie/tv
- No in-flight status updates (ETA)
- Lots of delays / often take shuttles to/from gates on tarmac
iacrenter
Well-known member
I've read reviews on Allegiant and most of them are poor. There is a a reason the price is almost half as much as their competitors. Caveat Emptor.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/allegiant-air-honolulu
http://www.yelp.com/biz/allegiant-air-honolulu
Keep checking. Hawaiian airlines is usually the cheapest. The only 1 with complimentary meals still.
Was back there a couple weeks ago. We paid $460RT which was the cheapest fare listed in a long time (I check fares very regularly). Our flight before that, in January of last year, we paid $264RT, which is closer to what I've been used to. Something happened last year that upped fares across the board from the previous norm. Planes are always full now too.
Was back there a couple weeks ago. We paid $460RT which was the cheapest fare listed in a long time (I check fares very regularly). Our flight before that, in January of last year, we paid $264RT, which is closer to what I've been used to. Something happened last year that upped fares across the board from the previous norm. Planes are always full now too.
ps99472
New member
Allegiants reviews are pretty bad:http://m.yelp.com/biz/allegiant-air-los-angeles
And the reviews are consistently bad at other airports as well. My co-worker flew Allegiant recently and she thought it was ok, hmmm decisions..
And the reviews are consistently bad at other airports as well. My co-worker flew Allegiant recently and she thought it was ok, hmmm decisions..
iacrenter
Well-known member
daedalus said:
+1 Hawaiian Airlines
I recently flew on Hawaiian and was pleasantly surprised by their free meals and they even offered a complimentary cup of wine! They have friendly and young/attractive flight staff. Biggest downside is their baggage claim and check in at Honolulu is at the Interisland Terminal. This means a long walk from the gate or taking a free shuttle from the main terminal.
ps99472
New member
Ok, chickened out on Allegiant Air, not being able to sit together without paying a fee is the dealbreaker for me. Gonna stick with Hawaiian Air. Curiously Allegiant has a better ontime record than Hawaiian....
Just booked our rooms at Trump Waikiki for 3 nights! Pearl Harbor will be the highlight of my trip... Can't wait..
Here are some recs from a co-worker who lived in Oahu for awhile:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/alan-wongs-restaurant-honoluluhttp://www.yelp.com/biz/libby-manapua-shop-honolulu
Let me know if you have some too!
Just booked our rooms at Trump Waikiki for 3 nights! Pearl Harbor will be the highlight of my trip... Can't wait..
Here are some recs from a co-worker who lived in Oahu for awhile:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/alan-wongs-restaurant-honoluluhttp://www.yelp.com/biz/libby-manapua-shop-honolulu
Let me know if you have some too!
3 nights! I thought my trip was short. For manapua we always go to Chun Wahkam. The place we probably make the most effort to hit on every trip, aside from Zippy's, is Kaka'ako Kitchen. Alan Wong's is good. A lot of people rave about Kua Aina burger, but I find their burgers to be large but bland.
ps99472
New member
daedalus said:
We have another 5 nights in Kauai, which is way too long on that boring island (i'm not an outdoorsy type) and our short time in Honolulu will be tied up with the wedding. Need to plan in 5 meals a day to hit all the eating spots. And no I'm not going to a luau!
ps9 said:
There's a couple of outfits that does tours. We did one that was pretty fun. I'll have to look up the name.
In Waikiki, there's also some udon joint that's pretty yum. Marukame udon.
Edit: found it. Kipu ranch.http://m.yelp.com/biz/kipu-ranch-adventures-lihue
ps9, good thing you're not flying Allegiant.
Pilots at Allegiant Air Question Safety Standards
By JAD MOUAWADAPRIL 20, 2015
For the last decade, Allegiant Air has built a thriving business buying secondhand jets and connecting small cities to leisure destinations like Las Vegas and Honolulu.
By keeping costs low, offering cheap fares, and flying from places that other carriers have neglected, like Fort Wayne, Ind., or Allentown, Pa., Allegiant has grown rapidly. Today, the airline has one of the highest profit margins in the business and among the lowest costs.
But Allegiant?s scrappy success is now being questioned by its pilots, who say they are worried about repeated mechanical problems with the airline?s fleet of older planes, poor maintenance operations and a culture where profits come before safety.
The conflict between the pilots and the airline?s chairman and chief executive, Maurice Gallagher, has become increasingly tense over the last two years, with both sides locked in negotiations over a new contract.
It is not unusual for pilots to bring up safety and maintenance issues in the middle of labor talks. To the airline, the complaints represent scare tactics by the pilots union, driven by demands over benefits and work rules.
Since it was founded in 1997, Allegiant has kept a tight focus on reining in costs. It subcontracts all but the most routine maintenance, for instance. It also buys older planes, which keeps its ownership costs down.
Last year, the company?s operating margin was about 14 percent, second only to Spirit Airlines. Traditional carriers generally post operating profits in the low single digits.
This low-cost model has also led to tensions with the airline?s work force. The dispute with the pilots, for instance, began after the pilots voted for union representation two years ago.
It has since played out in federal court, where pilots contend that the airline has unlawfully scaled back their benefits and tightened work rules and shut them out of voluntary safety programs that are common at other carriers.
Amid this simmering tension, Allegiant pilots said they had identified at least 65 incidents from September to March where flights were forced to divert to another airport, return to the gate or abort their takeoff because of a mechanical or an engine problem.
At least four times, engines shut down in flight, the pilots said. The list of problems also includes planes that lost their communications equipment, hydraulic leaks, engines that failed to deliver sufficient power, inoperative cockpit panel lights, and pressurization problems.
One airplane had repeated problems, including the loss of cockpit automation, before it was taken out of service for repairs.
All the claims were reported by the pilots and compiled by the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition on behalf of the pilots? union, the Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224.
Their report concluded that poorly trained mechanics, insufficient spare parts, and an aging fleet were ?creating a dangerous paradigm that could eventually lead to an accident resulting in serious injury and loss of life.?
Allegiant?s pilots recently threatened to go on strike to force the company to restore previous work rules. Union officials denied they were making the safety accusations to gain leverage in negotiations.
Some aviation safety experts said the number of issues should raise some red flags at the Federal Aviation Administration.
?For a small fleet, that?s an awful lot of problems,? said John Goglia, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board. ?They are running on the safety margin.?
Allegiant said the accusations were ?absurd.? It said planes were inspected by mechanics every night. The carrier said it also has an analysis and surveillance program, as well as a reliability program, to monitor the fleet?s health and performance and shares its data with the Federal Aviation Administration.
?Neither Allegiant nor the F.A.A. have identified abnormal trends,? said Jessica Wheeler, a spokeswoman for Allegiant.
Steve Harfst, the chief operating officer of the Allegiant Travel Company, which owns the airline, said in a statement: ?The safety of our passengers and crew is, above all, our No.1 priority. Allegiant has one of the best safety records among passenger airlines in the world and complies with all F.A.A. regulations.?
The F.A.A. did not address the specific issues raised by Allegiant?s pilots, but pointed out that it had increased surveillance while the airline dealt with its current labor issues.
The agency is ?continuously monitoring, evaluating and providing oversight of Allegiant Air to ensure the carrier is capable of meeting its responsibility for safe operations,? according to Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the F.A.A.
Federal regulators have already taken a deep look at Allegiant?s operations. In 2013, a routine F.A.A. inspection found problems with the airline?s maintenance and training programs.
The inspection, which is known as an Air Carrier Evaluation Program, and which has not been made public, led the F.A.A. to temporarily shut down the airline?s training programs for pilots, mechanics and flight attendants and freeze new plane deliveries until problems were addressed.
Among the problems the F.A.A. found was that Allegiant?s repair program did not properly distinguish between ?minor? and ?major? repairs and did not adequately track structural defects. The F.A.A. also said Allegiant was ?not effective in identifying systemic deficiencies? and also found problems with the training of pilots for Boeing 757s and Airbus A320s.
Most issues were resolved within six months. Allegiant said that the F.A.A. found that a training manual needed to be revised, but that there was never any question or concern regarding training processes or pilot qualification.
John Cox, the chief executive of Safety Operating Solutions, and a former safety official at the Air Line Pilots Association, said tense labor negotiations could often bring ?rhetorical excesses? about safety. In some cases, he said, airlines and pilots can benefit by bringing an outside auditor to review the facts and provide a dispassionate analysis of events.
?Allegiant is pretty unique because they are ultralow cost,? Mr. Cox said. ?Older airplanes have more mechanical issues than newer ones. But does that make them unsafe? Absolutely not. Allegiant has had a pretty good track record.?
Union officials also assert that the airline has shut its pilots out of several safety programs that are common at many airlines including one known as the Aviation Safety Action Program. Allegiant denies this, saying it invited pilots to the monthly meeting of its flight operations safety committee.
Allegiant operates a fleet of 70 airplanes, mostly McDonnell-Douglas MD-80s, which have an average age of 22.2 years. Last year, it carried eight million passengers.
Mr. Gallagher, who is also Allegiant?s biggest shareholder, was one of four co-founders of ValuJet. He left that airline in 1997, a year after the crash of ValuJet Flight 592, when the airline merged with AirTran and changed its name. It is now part of Southwest. Mr. Gallagher declined to be interviewed.
Tom Haueter, the former director of aviation safety at the National Transportation Safety Board, said the problems highlighted by Allegiant pilots did not necessarily reflect a systemic problem with the company.
Pilots can overreport a problem, either out of an abundance of caution or because they are seeking concessions from the airline, he said. That can make the job of F.A.A. inspectors more difficult, he said.
?The truth sometimes lies in the middle,? Mr. Haueter said.
Pilots at Allegiant Air Question Safety Standards
By JAD MOUAWADAPRIL 20, 2015
For the last decade, Allegiant Air has built a thriving business buying secondhand jets and connecting small cities to leisure destinations like Las Vegas and Honolulu.
By keeping costs low, offering cheap fares, and flying from places that other carriers have neglected, like Fort Wayne, Ind., or Allentown, Pa., Allegiant has grown rapidly. Today, the airline has one of the highest profit margins in the business and among the lowest costs.
But Allegiant?s scrappy success is now being questioned by its pilots, who say they are worried about repeated mechanical problems with the airline?s fleet of older planes, poor maintenance operations and a culture where profits come before safety.
The conflict between the pilots and the airline?s chairman and chief executive, Maurice Gallagher, has become increasingly tense over the last two years, with both sides locked in negotiations over a new contract.
It is not unusual for pilots to bring up safety and maintenance issues in the middle of labor talks. To the airline, the complaints represent scare tactics by the pilots union, driven by demands over benefits and work rules.
Since it was founded in 1997, Allegiant has kept a tight focus on reining in costs. It subcontracts all but the most routine maintenance, for instance. It also buys older planes, which keeps its ownership costs down.
Last year, the company?s operating margin was about 14 percent, second only to Spirit Airlines. Traditional carriers generally post operating profits in the low single digits.
This low-cost model has also led to tensions with the airline?s work force. The dispute with the pilots, for instance, began after the pilots voted for union representation two years ago.
It has since played out in federal court, where pilots contend that the airline has unlawfully scaled back their benefits and tightened work rules and shut them out of voluntary safety programs that are common at other carriers.
Amid this simmering tension, Allegiant pilots said they had identified at least 65 incidents from September to March where flights were forced to divert to another airport, return to the gate or abort their takeoff because of a mechanical or an engine problem.
At least four times, engines shut down in flight, the pilots said. The list of problems also includes planes that lost their communications equipment, hydraulic leaks, engines that failed to deliver sufficient power, inoperative cockpit panel lights, and pressurization problems.
One airplane had repeated problems, including the loss of cockpit automation, before it was taken out of service for repairs.
All the claims were reported by the pilots and compiled by the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition on behalf of the pilots? union, the Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224.
Their report concluded that poorly trained mechanics, insufficient spare parts, and an aging fleet were ?creating a dangerous paradigm that could eventually lead to an accident resulting in serious injury and loss of life.?
Allegiant?s pilots recently threatened to go on strike to force the company to restore previous work rules. Union officials denied they were making the safety accusations to gain leverage in negotiations.
Some aviation safety experts said the number of issues should raise some red flags at the Federal Aviation Administration.
?For a small fleet, that?s an awful lot of problems,? said John Goglia, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board. ?They are running on the safety margin.?
Allegiant said the accusations were ?absurd.? It said planes were inspected by mechanics every night. The carrier said it also has an analysis and surveillance program, as well as a reliability program, to monitor the fleet?s health and performance and shares its data with the Federal Aviation Administration.
?Neither Allegiant nor the F.A.A. have identified abnormal trends,? said Jessica Wheeler, a spokeswoman for Allegiant.
Steve Harfst, the chief operating officer of the Allegiant Travel Company, which owns the airline, said in a statement: ?The safety of our passengers and crew is, above all, our No.1 priority. Allegiant has one of the best safety records among passenger airlines in the world and complies with all F.A.A. regulations.?
The F.A.A. did not address the specific issues raised by Allegiant?s pilots, but pointed out that it had increased surveillance while the airline dealt with its current labor issues.
The agency is ?continuously monitoring, evaluating and providing oversight of Allegiant Air to ensure the carrier is capable of meeting its responsibility for safe operations,? according to Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the F.A.A.
Federal regulators have already taken a deep look at Allegiant?s operations. In 2013, a routine F.A.A. inspection found problems with the airline?s maintenance and training programs.
The inspection, which is known as an Air Carrier Evaluation Program, and which has not been made public, led the F.A.A. to temporarily shut down the airline?s training programs for pilots, mechanics and flight attendants and freeze new plane deliveries until problems were addressed.
Among the problems the F.A.A. found was that Allegiant?s repair program did not properly distinguish between ?minor? and ?major? repairs and did not adequately track structural defects. The F.A.A. also said Allegiant was ?not effective in identifying systemic deficiencies? and also found problems with the training of pilots for Boeing 757s and Airbus A320s.
Most issues were resolved within six months. Allegiant said that the F.A.A. found that a training manual needed to be revised, but that there was never any question or concern regarding training processes or pilot qualification.
John Cox, the chief executive of Safety Operating Solutions, and a former safety official at the Air Line Pilots Association, said tense labor negotiations could often bring ?rhetorical excesses? about safety. In some cases, he said, airlines and pilots can benefit by bringing an outside auditor to review the facts and provide a dispassionate analysis of events.
?Allegiant is pretty unique because they are ultralow cost,? Mr. Cox said. ?Older airplanes have more mechanical issues than newer ones. But does that make them unsafe? Absolutely not. Allegiant has had a pretty good track record.?
Union officials also assert that the airline has shut its pilots out of several safety programs that are common at many airlines including one known as the Aviation Safety Action Program. Allegiant denies this, saying it invited pilots to the monthly meeting of its flight operations safety committee.
Allegiant operates a fleet of 70 airplanes, mostly McDonnell-Douglas MD-80s, which have an average age of 22.2 years. Last year, it carried eight million passengers.
Mr. Gallagher, who is also Allegiant?s biggest shareholder, was one of four co-founders of ValuJet. He left that airline in 1997, a year after the crash of ValuJet Flight 592, when the airline merged with AirTran and changed its name. It is now part of Southwest. Mr. Gallagher declined to be interviewed.
Tom Haueter, the former director of aviation safety at the National Transportation Safety Board, said the problems highlighted by Allegiant pilots did not necessarily reflect a systemic problem with the company.
Pilots can overreport a problem, either out of an abundance of caution or because they are seeking concessions from the airline, he said. That can make the job of F.A.A. inspectors more difficult, he said.
?The truth sometimes lies in the middle,? Mr. Haueter said.
iacrenter
Well-known member
That article raises some concerns. Allegiant's older airplane fleet would be more unreliable and maybe less safe unless meticulously maintained. I suspect the ultra low cost carrier doesn't spend extra money for maintenance beyond the minimum.
Here is the average fleet age (years) of some airlines:
Allegiant 22.2
JetBlue 8
Hawaiian 9.3
Southwest 11.8
American 12.7
United 13.4
Here is the average fleet age (years) of some airlines:
Allegiant 22.2
JetBlue 8
Hawaiian 9.3
Southwest 11.8
American 12.7
United 13.4