This is how southwest started also. Purchased a bunch of old planes, ran cheap rates. Prayed for no accidents. If they can make it through the first part they have a shot. This is a pretty bad report on them however. It will be interesting to see if people keep flying and they make it through this and get the new planes up and running. I think I will wait it out a little and keep booking on other airlines. I actually flew them one time and it was not bad at all. Direct flight, quick, Cheap. However, I had no idea I was flying on what could have been a faulty airplane.
60 Minutes segment on Allegiant Air
- Thread starter JP4CY
- Start date
I was on that same flight. If it wasn't that same flight then they had two engine issues on two separate planes. Another time the AC didn't work in the cabin.
When I worked at the DSM airport there were several that had engine issues and had to abort take offs.
I’ve flown the family many times on Allegiant to St Pete with zero issues. A direct with 3 kids is much easier. Plus as a taller person the leg room on the MD 80s is much more than the new A320s. Some of the new Bombardier planes are built for toddlers.
That being said i hope Allegiant is fully committed to updating their fleet and I would be willing to pay more with them just to keep the direct options out of Des Moines. I really hope they can improve as a company and stick with their business model of connecting regional airports directly with vacation spots. Allegiant has brought a lot of business to the DSM airport that potentially would have drove elsewhere to get a direct. I know plenty of people that weren’t looking for a vacation but decided to go on a quick one since the flights were so reasonable and direct.
That being said i hope Allegiant is fully committed to updating their fleet and I would be willing to pay more with them just to keep the direct options out of Des Moines. I really hope they can improve as a company and stick with their business model of connecting regional airports directly with vacation spots. Allegiant has brought a lot of business to the DSM airport that potentially would have drove elsewhere to get a direct. I know plenty of people that weren’t looking for a vacation but decided to go on a quick one since the flights were so reasonable and direct.
New airplanes are not maintenance free like new cars where you just drive them without much thought of maintenance for a few years. Not sure new planes is a total fix when you are doing staffing and maintenance on the cheap. If you culture is cheap and corner cutting then your new planes won't be maintained as well as other airlines.
Of course we may all end up ****** as most of the airlines are outsourcing major repairs and overhauls overseas. Those overseas facilities are supposed to be FAA inspected but FAA is not funded or staffed enough to do it so they are mostly not inspected. Plus the other countries don't particularly have much incentive to cooperate and it's not like you can request access for a "surprise" inspection. Nothing will change with respect to this unless a bunch of majors start having planes auger in. And then maybe only if someone popular or famous is killed.
Of course we may all end up ****** as most of the airlines are outsourcing major repairs and overhauls overseas. Those overseas facilities are supposed to be FAA inspected but FAA is not funded or staffed enough to do it so they are mostly not inspected. Plus the other countries don't particularly have much incentive to cooperate and it's not like you can request access for a "surprise" inspection. Nothing will change with respect to this unless a bunch of majors start having planes auger in. And then maybe only if someone popular or famous is killed.
Last edited:
I'm a former aircraft mechanic and old does not equal dangerous. The engines undergo a series of inspections every X amount of hours and they also get swapped out. The safety of the aircraft starts and stops with quality maintenance and integrity, which is where Allegiant has failed. Allegiant got into the habit making quick ban aid type repairs and that eventually snowballs into bigger problems.
I completely agree with you. I fly for work frequently on a 1981 A36 Bonanza and I trust that plane more than anything. The trust is mainly due to I know it’s maintenemce schedule and history. The mechanic that works on that plane has always said a well up kept older plane is more predictable than many of the newer ones.
Exactly...if you bypass proper procedure and forget to replace a part on a key flight control system after doing maintenance/repair, it really doesn't matter if the plane is old or new...
You've outed yourself now Leath.
Welcome to the new era of "fake regulators".
It's called corruption. Government doesn't keep anyone safe, they just give some a warm feeling like they are doing something.
The 60 Minutes story claimed Allegiant had some of the highest profit margins in the industry.
That was perhaps the most surprising part of the story for me.
They don't cut corners because they have to in order to keep the doors open. They do it because they are realizing huge profits because of it.
Another place they cut costs is where they fly to. Other than Vegas and LA they fly to smaller airports in the vacinity of that larger area. Sanford, St. Pete Clearwater, Mesa etc. That is because the landing fees, counter and gate rental rates are significantly cheaper there as well.
Damn, they are down 20 pts since last week.. But this was a pretty disturbing report. Allegiant had better take action, or I would expect the business to suffer. I already hate flying with them, they are so rude, but at least I thought it was safe before. I will pay extra to fly to vegas on Southwest now.
That was bad, at least fake that you have safety in mind. FAA is nothing but a yes man for the big corporations.
Without sending this to the cave...This is why those of us in general aviation fear ATC privatization as it would be controlled by the airlines. These are the same people that blame ATC and airports for delays while they all schedule blocks of flights with large numbers of aircraft from multiple carriers coming and going at the same time.
These are the same people that had to have legislation passed requiring them to let you off the plane, provide food, water etc when you have long delays.
The 2 hour drive to Omaha to fly SW is worth it. Flights to LAS are $143 one way. I picked a random date of May 3. I have to fly to HOU frequently and the direct flight from OMA to HOU is $111 one way. Looking forward to a SW direct to PHX out of DSM. I'd go today if I could.
Ha!! Far worse things would happen if I even came close to flying a plane than what Leath did!!!! My track record with farm equipment should automatically disqualify me from running anything that can fall from the sky.
Welcome to the new era of "fake regulators".
If the FAA behavior in this matter at all surprises you, check out the launch of the MD DC-10 back in the early 1970s. Here's the short version.
1972, AA flight 96: rear cargo door blows out, collapsing the rear cabin floor and severing some control cables to the rear control surfaces. The pilots have enough control and expertise to get the plane landed.
NTSB: There are severe design flaws in the DC-10's cargo doors and cabin floor that need to be fixed.
FAA: We'll let MD handle the problem as they see fit; there is no need to issue an airworthiness directive to force proper repairs.
1974, TA flight 981: rear cargo do blows out. This time the floor collapse is more catastrophic, severing all controls (hydraulic and cables) to the rear control surfaces. The plane is uncontrollable and crashes, killing all 346 aboard.
House of Representatives investigates the cargo door problem, and an airworthiness directive is finally issued to force proper repairs. It seems that MD, left on their own, came up with lousy, ineffective solution, and then didn't properly implement (including training the airlines how to "properly close" doors) the lousy solution they came up with. Also, it seems that the cargo door issue was known by MD and its subcontractors during the design of the DC-10.
