Book an Allegiant flight now, on Expedia. It just got easier.
The Las Vegas budget carrier announced an exclusive, one-year deal on Tuesday. You can buy tickets there. You can also buy them on Allegiant’s own site. Sun Country Airlines? Already listed. Allegiant bought that company in May, so no surprises there.
Displaying Allegiant flights on Expedia gives the carrier visibility they never really had before.
Allegiant used to force everyone to their own website. Direct only. That’s over for now, at least for the basic search. But read the fine print. Or don’t, then pay more. Checked bags? Not on Expedia. Seat assignments? No. You have to buy those directly from Allegiant later. That hurts if you liked their fare bundles.
They sell three types on their site: “basic,” which gets you a seat and a free carry-on; “bonus,” swapping that for a checked bag and extra legroom; and “total,” which throws in everything. A bare fare gets you just a spot on the plane. Maybe the aisle, maybe not. You guess when you search Expedia, then pay the penalty if you want to keep your stuff.
Why the shift? The Sun Country merger. They’re stitching together, slowly. The goal is $140 million in yearly savings, mostly by flooding Minneapolis-St. Paul with planes. It’s Sun Country’s big home base. They also want better credit card perks and a real loyalty program.
Robert Neal, the president, said back in June that they intend to become “one Allegiant brand.” Capacity goes up. Service spreads west. The integration takes 12 to 18 more months. A long time, really.
You can click and book now, but the full machine isn’t humming yet. Will you bother switching sites for your baggage fees?
