[DNM95377]

1) I agree that you should be careful when purchasing. Yes. What I take exception to is the shady manner in which Allegiant chooses to try and trick people into purchasing things unintentionally...by either baiting you into making seemingly harmless choices (like selecting a seat) or by automatically by default opting you "in" for things that you don't want or may miss. It's shady and you cannot defend it as sound business practice. Legal perhaps...but not a way that I would do business. Your statement of trying to "justify" it because "everyone" is doing it is just as bad. NOT everyone is doing it...and it's not right. I was talking Allegiant specifically...not the industry as a whole. And yes...it is appalling that a company feels the need in any way to try and "trick" or "ambush" people into spending money. For the record I wasn't overcharged for anything booking online because I "caught" all the tricks...BUT others in our group...and other people I know that have booked in the past HAVE gotten stung. That's what I have a problem with...and that's what Allegiant is counting on to boost their bottom line. It's wrong.

2) In no way shape or form did I say we were not to blame for arriving with "only" 30 minutes. The point I was trying to make is that the airline has a choice to either a) put on blinders and ignore paying customers or b) provide some customer service that could have turned a negative experience into a positive experience. That can and will be the difference between a company surviving for the long term vs. a company trying to make next quarter's numbers. I DO expect there to be a certain level of service REGARDLESS of where, how small, how large and airport is. Should I not expect a co-pilot? Should I not expect air in the tires? Should I not expect somebody at the counter to address paying passengers 30 minutes prior to a flight? I don't think that's unreasonable. If this airline wants to compete with the big boys...they better start acting like the big boys. You are right...the plane can roll anytime it wants...the point I made was that we were paying customers that were waiting to board for 20 mintes PRIOR to it leaving the gate early. You really think that it would have taken us 20 minutes...let alone the 30 minutes that we were there early to walk through the TSA check and up the ramp and get seated? Seriously? The cutoff time kept vasillating between 30 minutes and 45 mintues for the "ticket counter closure" depending on whom you talked to. Bottom line...they chose to ignore 8 (6 in our group plus 2 others) paying customers when it would have been a non-issue to get us on board in a timely and safe manner with PLENTY of time to spare.

3) Yeah...the so called manager...did come out of hiding behind the mystery door like the Wizard of Oz, only after the plane was physically gone....because she is a coward and didn't have the guts nor the customer service skills to address us properly. And yes...we were standing in front of the counter AND watching the plane at the same time...that's how CLOSE we were. If we could see them...they could certainly see us, and uh...maybe send somebody over? To help? Assist? Do something? Anything? Nope.

4) The point with the comparison to Allegiant's competitor that went out of their way to accomodate us (notice that at no time have I mentioned the name of the competitor)...is a company CULTURE difference. The customer service person on the phone that we called to book the competitor's flight...was NOT in Sacramento...had no reason to accomodate us...had no reason to hold six seats for us...and didn't know us from Larry down the street. What that person DID realize was that she could make a difference for 6 paying customers that have been shafted by a competitor...realized that we were in a time crunch...and went out of her way to get us into the system asap...again VERBALLY with no credit cards or any other identifying information. And before you ask if their flight was full...YES it was when we boarded.

Allegiant can run their airline in the manner that they want. BUT, that doesn't mean that I have to put up with it nor accept it. Time will tell if their "business plan" will work out. Good luck Allegiant you WILL need it.

Originally Posted by Silent Bob

1 - You agree to a certain extent that you should read everything before buying a ticket online? To what extent is that? You should read everything as you don't want to get caught into paying for something you don't want. Many travel sites such as Orbitz (my personal fav) and Expedia offer rental cars, hotels, shows, etc, when you only want to book a flight. And most websites (airline and travel sites) offer booking fees. Hell some airlines will charge you to book a ticket by phone... to go further, some will charge you to SPEAK to a real person. You seem shocked and appalled by this. It's nothing new.

2 - And this is a doozy, but you left yourself open to it. You arrived 30 minutes before departure, in a one horse (or one flight) airport and you were surprised there was no one there when you arrived? It would seem as soon as cut off hit, those employees who were working the counter went to work the gate, quite common practice in small airports. And even if the plane is RIGHT there, you were late, so now it's Allegiance fault? The cut off time isn't anything new. So it's their fault for following the rule that EVERY airline follows? Come on! And that plane is allowed to roll away ten minutes before departure, due to the fact that everyone who arrived on time, was checked in and ready to go. It happens with every airline. (at least those that I have flown)

3 - the manager came from behind a mystery door? was the door not there before? Oh yea you were watching your plane leave without you...

4 - Hey you wanna know why Southwest was there when you arrived at the airport? Hmmmm just a guess, but I think they have more than one flight and will always be there until the last flight is gone? and had you arrived 30 minutes prior (like you said you did... thought I take that with a grain of salt) I am sure, that if they had only one flight they would be long gone.

Except some responsibility in this, you were ultimately late for your flight, one flight a day or not, you were late. Sorry but you can't blame someone else for your own actions. True if it's only one flight going out of this small airport, 2 hours is a bit much, but had you given yourself the time to get to the airport, get checked in, and get through security, you'd be in Vegas with no issues. Accept what you've done and move on.