This flight review took place on Sunday, May 19th, 2019, on Allegiant Air from Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) to Pittsburgh Int’l Airport (PIT) on board an Airbus A-320.
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Airline: Allegiant Air (G4 #1523)
Date: Sunday, May 19th, 2019
Departure City: Punta Gorda Airport (PGD)
Departure Time: 11:28 AM
Arrival City: Pittsburgh Int’l Airport (PIT)
Arrival Time: 1:44 PM
Aircraft: Airbus A-320
Our trip to Siesta Key is over and it is time to leave our AirBNB condo. We got into our Mercedes Benz GL SUV from Turo and started the 1 hour drive to Punta Gorda Airport.
Since Punta Gorda is a tiny airport, there was no wait to drop off our checked bag, and we proceeded through the security checkpoint.
Once past security, there are a few gates and a store/cafe. The store has basic items like books, magazines, and snacks, while the cafe offers a few basic hot/prepared foods. We each had a bacon and egg croissant, which was pretty good.
Boarding started on time and since there are no jetways, all boarding takes places via stairs in the aft of the aircraft and a ramp in the front of the aircraft. This method drastically reduced the time needed to board, and within a few minutes, we were closed up and ready for departure.
The flight itself was smooth and uneventful. My wife tried to nap and I finished reading a book. The usual buy on board service came through, and we spent the $2.00 for a bottle of Dasani water.
As we touched down in Pittsburgh, I have to admit that out of the hundreds and hundreds of flights I have taken in my life, this was the smoothest landing ever. It didn’t even feel like we touched down it was that smooth. Congrats to the pilots for the skills!
Our flight departed 10 minutes early and arrived into Pittsburgh 16 minutes early, which saved us almost a half hour of time.
The bags made their way to the baggage carousel about 15 minutes after we left the aircraft.
Overall, this was another great flight on Allegiant Air.
About the Author: The Travel Wolf
The Travel Wolf (a.k.a. John) is a freelance aviation/airline writer, frequent traveler and avid airline enthusiast. I feel most at home when I am 30,000 feet in the air and watching the clouds from above. I love the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!
This flight review took place on Sunday, May 12th, 2019, on Allegiant Air from Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) on board an Airbus A-320.
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Airline: Allegiant Air (G4 #1695)
Date: Sunday, May 12th, 2019
Departure City: Pittsburgh Int’l Airport (PIT)
Departure Time: 9:17 AM
Arrival City: Punta Gorda Airport (PGD)
Arrival Time: 11:44 AM
Aircraft: Airbus A-320
My wife and I were planning a trip to Florida, and exploring our options to get to Siesta Key. We had traveled on Allegiant Air in the past on trips to Savannah, Georgia and Cancun, Mexico, and we had no hesitations about using them for the short hop down to Florida.
Booking on the Allegiant website is quick and easy. We secured two roundtrip tickets, with 1 checked bag, and pre-selecting our seats in both directions for a total of $462. Without a checked bag or seat selection, the total would have only been $326.
The morning of the flight, we arrived at Pittsburgh Int’l Airport (PIT) about 90 minutes before departure, and found the Allegiant Air check-in area completely empty! We walked up, dropped off our checked bag, and were on our way to security within 60 seconds.
Boarding commenced on-time and our aircraft pushed back at 9:17am. Our estimated flight time was 2 hours and 27 minutes.
The thing I enjoy about the Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines employees at Pittsburgh is that they all seem to enjoy their jobs and put the passengers into a good positive mindset as they are boarding. It’s a night and day difference between these folks and some of the “legacy airline” employees you meet at big hubs like O’Hare, Newark, JFK, etc. A big round of applause for the awesome gate agents of Allegiant and Spirit in Pittsburgh.
The Allegiant Air flight today (G4 #1695) is being flown by an Airbus A-320. The aircraft interior is simple and clean. The seats are basic with minimal padding and no reclining option. I love this, as I am usually stuck with someone directly in front of me who throws their seat into full recline the moment we take off.
Once we reached cruising altitude the snack purchasing service began. The offerings are basic, but reasonably priced. Only credit cards are accepted.
Nothing is free on Allegiant Air. A bottle of water will set you back $2, unless you are an Allegiant Air credit card holder. If you have an Allegiant Air card, you are comped (1) free drink of your choice for the flight.
The Airbus A-320 has no in-flight entertainment, so be prepared with your own (whether games on your phone, an iPad with movies, or a good book).
After 2+ hours in the air, we began our descent into Punta Gorda. The warm Florida landscape below us looked so inviting, and we were counting down the minutes until we would be relaxing on the warm sand of Siesta Key beach.
The flight made a hard landing at 11:35am and within 4 minutes we were parked at our stand in Punta Gorda Airport (PGD). Punta Gorda is a small airport with no jet bridges and all remote parking with ramps/stairs.
It was a big change going from the chilly weather of Pittsburgh to the 90F sunny temperature of South Florida! Upon disembarking the aircraft, we walked into the terminal and proceeded to the baggage claim area. The total time walking from the aircraft door to baggage claim was roughly 2 minutes.
The baggage claim is small with only 2 belts, and the bags took roughly 15 minutes to appear, and ours arriving about 20 minutes after we arrived at the baggage claim.
Overall, our experience on this Allegiant Air flight was very good. When traveling on an Ultra Low Cost airline like Allegiant, Frontier, Spirit, etc, you need to set your expectations based on your price. They provide everything as expected. Safe, clean, non-stop, and reliable transportation from Point A to Point B for a very low price.
Despite all the former negative posts in the media about Allegiant, I have never had a bad experience with them in the 6 flights I have taken. While Allegiant used to have a large fleet of old MD-80 aircraft, they have since phased them all out and now only operate new/modern Airbus A-319 and A-320 aircraft.
Thank you to Allegiant Air for a safe and cheap way to travel to Florida!
About the Author: The Travel Wolf
The Travel Wolf (a.k.a. John) is a freelance aviation/airline writer, frequent traveler and avid airline enthusiast. I feel most at home when I am 30,000 feet in the air and watching the clouds from above. I love the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!
