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Allegiant Air Boarding Zones & Process — Everything You Need To Know

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Jeff Brownson
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Jeff Brownson

Former Content Contributor

25 Published Articles

Countries Visited: 40U.S. States Visited:

Jeff got into the points and miles game in 2010 and since then has visited over 35 countries, flying mostly in first and business class. He’s a contributor to Traveling Dad and has spoken at the Chica...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
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Keri Stooksbury

Editor-in-Chief

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Countries Visited: 50U.S. States Visited: 28

With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now editor-in-chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
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Key Takeaways

  • Allegiant Air has a fairly limited route network compared to larger carriers, flying to mostly smaller and lesser-used airports within the U.S. and Puerto Rico — but it does cover ~117 destinations at least a couple of times per week.
  • Allegiant Air uses a zone-based boarding process starting with pre-boarding, priority boarding, military boarding, and family boarding.
  • Zone 1 to 6 board next based on your seat location and whether you have a carry-on bag.

Allegiant Air is what is known as an ultra-low-cost carrier, meaning it prices its tickets as low as possible and then charges passengers for absolutely everything else. The fares may be well under $50 one-way, but by the time you are done, your flight could cost significantly more.

Want water or soda on board? You will pay for that. Want to have a seat assigned before check-in? That can cost up to $80 for premium seat locations on longer flights. Need to take a carry-on bag? That will run you up to another $75 for your flight.

The nice part about this pricing model is that you never have to pay for something you don’t need. If you don’t care where you sit, are just taking a small backpack for a weekend trip, and don’t need any food or drink while on board, you truly can fly for a really low price.

Once you’ve taken a look at the overall cost and decided to fly with Allegiant Air, you want to be prepared for your flight. That starts with boarding.

Rather than being one of the confused passengers wandering around the gate area not knowing where to go, you should take a few minutes now to learn how boarding with Allegiant works. Let’s take a quick look at the details of its boarding process.

Allegiant Air Boarding Zones

Allegiant Air begins the boarding process with 4 named zones. Once those are all taken care of, it moves on with 6 numbered zones of general boarding.

For general boarding, passengers are placed into zones based on whether they have a carry-on bag or not and what row they are seated in.

Passengers without bags needing to go in the overhead bins are boarded first, from back to front of the plane. Then passengers who need to stow bags are boarded, again from back to front.

Even if you choose not to purchase a seat assignment in advance, you will be placed in a specific seat when you check in for your flight. Once your seat and row are assigned, you will be placed in the corresponding boarding zone.

Here’s an overview of exactly who gets to board with each group on Allegiant:

Pre-boarding

  • Anyone needing additional time or assistance; the boarding process may be paused to give this first group a little extra time to get situated before resuming with the next group

Priority Boarding

Military Boarding

  •  Active military personnel and their dependents

Family Boarding

  • Passengers boarding with car seats and strollers

Zone 1

  • Passengers seated in the exit rows

Zone 2

  • Passengers without carry-on bags seated in rows 25 to 40

Zone 3

  • Passengers without carry-on bags seated in rows 1 to 24

Zone 4

  • Passengers with carry-on bags seated in rows 25 to 40

Zone 5

  • Passengers with carry-on bags seated in rows 10 to 24

Zone 6

  • Passengers with carry-on bags seated in rows 1 to 9

Boarding Notes

If you want to sit together with the people you are traveling with on your flight, you should pay to select seats ahead of time. Allegiant Air makes no guarantees that your party will be able to be seated together if you wait until check-in to get free seat assignments.

Unlike Frontier, which gives passengers who have purchased carry-on bags priority boarding, Allegiant boards passengers with carry-on bags in the last 3 groups. This is a great example of why you should be familiar with the boarding procedures for the airline you are flying!

In this case, the 2 airlines are both low-cost carriers, but they do the exact opposite when boarding passengers with carry-on bags.

Hot Tip: Like Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air will charge you to have an agent at the airport print your boarding pass. For Allegiant, the fee is a little lower at $5 for each pass. To avoid paying this, either check in and print your boarding pass at home or use the Allegiant app to check in and pull up your boarding pass on your smartphone.

How To Build Up Your Allegiant Air Allway Rewards Points

We include this section here since we’re all about using points for travel, and we have sections on how to earn points for each airline in our boarding procedures series.

However, when it comes right down to it, Allway Rewards points aren’t really something you want to go out of your way to collect.

On redemption, the points are only worth a single penny each — there is no way to get a higher value out of them. Also, they can only be redeemed for a discount on Allegiant flights or other travel booked through Allegiant’s travel partners.

If you fly with Allegiant regularly, its Allegiant World card might be worth getting, but more for the flight benefits than the points earning.

Allegiant Mastercard Earning
At first glance, the earning structure on the Allegiant World card looks pretty good, but earning isn’t the only thing you need to pay attention to. Image Credit: Allegiant

The Allegiant World Mastercard earns 3x points on Allegiant purchases and 2x points on dining — but at the fixed 1-cent redemption level, you’d be better off putting your spending on one of the many cash-back cards that earn the same or more.

There are also several cards that reward generously for dining and purchases at restaurants, which in our opinion offer a far superior option than Allegiant’s card.

As we mentioned, the Allegiant World card does come with a couple of useful benefits if you fly on a lot of Allegiant flights. All cardholders get complimentary priority boarding, and if you show your card on the flight, you get 1 free beverage.

But with an annual fee of $59, you would have to take a whole lot of flights to make holding the card worth it (though it would theoretically be possible to use these benefits to your advantage and come out ahead).

Bottom Line: Although it is possible to earn 2x Allway Rewards points on your dining purchases with the Allegiant World card, it will never be your best option for spending. The points you earn can only be redeemed for a fixed penny per point for travel booked through Allegiant. Because of that, even a 2% cash-back card would be a better option due to the added flexibility.

Final Thoughts

As an ultra-low-cost carrier that focuses on leisure travel, Allegiant Air is sure to have plenty of passengers who are not regulars when it comes to air travel. Those people may be less familiar with check-in, going through airport security, and certainly with boarding the airplane.

By learning the details of the Allegiant boarding procedures ahead of time, you can be sure that you won’t add to the airport confusion — and who knows, you might even be able to point someone else in the right direction.

Being comfortable with the process from the moment you get to the gate will start your travel day off right and make your whole trip a little bit better. Next time you fly with Allegiant Air, you’ll be ready to go!

The information regarding the Allegiant World Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many boarding zones are there on Allegiant?

Allegiant Air uses 6 boarding zones in the general boarding process for its flights. In addition, it has 4 groups that are allowed to board prior to the beginning of general boarding.

Are Allegiant flights assigned seating?

Yes, Allegiant Air uses assigned seating for all of its flights. If you would like to reserve a specific seat ahead of time, you will need to pay a fee to do so. If you do not want to pay to reserve a seat, one will be randomly assigned to you when you check in for your flight.

Who has pre-boarding on Allegiant?

Anyone needing additional time or assistance for getting onto the plane can pre-board on Allegiant Air flights. The boarding process may be paused to give this first group a little extra time to get situated before resuming with the next group.

Who has priority boarding on Allegiant?

Passengers who have purchased Priority Access and passengers who hold an Allegiant World card are eligible to board the aircraft when priority boarding is called.

Can military board early on Allegiant?

Yes, active military personnel and their dependents are allowed to board after priority boarding and before family boarding on all Allegiant flights.

When can families board on Allegiant?

On Allegiant Air flights, families who are boarding with car seats or strollers are allowed to board right after active military members and their dependents and before the start of general boarding.

Who is in zone 1 on Allegiant?

Boarding zone 1 on Allegiant Air includes all passengers who are seated in the exit rows.

Who is in zone 2 on Allegiant?

Boarding zone 2 on Allegiant Air includes passengers seated in rows 25 to 40 who do not have a carry-on bag that needs to be stored in the overhead bins.

Who is in zone 3 on Allegiant?

Boarding zone 3 on Allegiant Air includes passengers seated in rows 1 to 24 who do not have a carry-on bag that needs to be stored in the overhead bins.

Who is in zone 4 on Allegiant?

Boarding zone 4 on Allegiant Air includes passengers seated in rows 25 to 40 who need to stow a carry-on bag in the overhead bins.

Who is in zone 5 on Allegiant?

Boarding zone 5 on Allegiant Air includes passengers seated in rows 10 to 24 who need to stow a carry-on bag in the overhead bins.

Who is in zone 6 on Allegiant?

Boarding zone 6 on Allegiant Air includes passengers seated in rows 1 to 9 who need to stow a carry-on bag in the overhead bins.

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About Jeff Brownson

Since discovering miles and points in 2010, Jeff has traveled to over 35 countries, flying in first class, business class, and sometimes even in coach. Whether he’s staying in a hostel dorm, or in a luxury suite at a 5 star hotel, Jeff is constantly looking for the best deal to make travel as close to free as possible.

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