Christie and I were looking at flights today to head up to a friend's wedding in Cleveland in August. After checking the standard airlines, Travelocity, etc., I opted to check out Allegiant Air.
For those of you that have never heard of it, it's a sketchy airline that flies out of Sanford, a city about 30 minutes north of where we live in Orlando. I've heard bad stories of people that have flown it before...but they are definitely cheap. I went in to look at the price, and it's about $200 less total (for both of us) than the seats I have on hold with American Airlines (my airline of choice).
But, then the incidentals started to add up...
--The ability to reserve our seats in advance: $50
--The ability to check one bag: $20
--The ability to go to the bathroom: $5 per trip
Okay, so maybe I made that last one up...but it won't be long, will it?
(At least with American, because of my elite status from flying so much with them, I have first dibs at premium seats and don't have to pay the fee for the first checked bag.)
Maybe we'll just drive. :-)
About Me
- Chris Winkler
- Serving Bible translation in Nigeria, I'm a Christ-follower, husband and father living in Plateau State.
Friends' Blogs
- Jon Shuler (Jon's photos are amazing)
- Back Row Leader (my friend Roy's thoughts on leadership)
- Those Winklers (our family blog site)
- AfriGadget (some of the most creative uses for "stuff in Africa")
- White African (All things techie coming out of Africa)
- Center for Student Missions (stories from my previous ministry)
- Ryan (friend from SF who always has interesting blog postings)
- Bob Creson (president of Wycliffe Bible Translators)
4 comments:
...actually, most airlines are getting pretty bad about charging for checking bags these days. including your beloved american airlines. check it out here
Jarrett has a point but thankfully my elite status (one perk of traveling a ton) gets me around the fee. (The announcement from American this week is one thing that prompted me to write this blog.)
Well, believe it or not, Allegiant was one of only two airlines (Southwest) that posted a net profit this last quarter, despite record-high fuel costs. Their CEO is regularly praised as a man who knows how to run an airline well. The whole concept of "unbundling" services and letting consumers "pay for what they use" is here to stay I think. I'm an elite on Continental and Northwest, and trust me I love it! We'd better pray our beloved airlines are still around for us to use those elite benefits. I'll miss the free first class upgrades. :-)
When you put it as Ryan puts it--letting consumers pay for what they use--it actually makes more sense to me. If my ticket, because I rarely check a bag, was subsidizing other travelers who do check bags, then I'm actually saving money this way.
And good thoughts about Allegiant Air. Maybe we will have to give them a try. In looking at flights, I actually think American is too high and I'll have to forgo the elite privileges and fly Northwest or something else.
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