[JessicaEd]

My family & I took Allegiant to Las Vegas from Bellingham, & back. On our return flight on 1/21/2013, although we didn’t know it at the time, there was a weather advisory in affect at Bellingham, although this was never mentioned when we checked in. After we boarded and the plane was getting ready to taxi, the Captain announced that he was hoping to take off early due to severe fog in Bellingham that would prevent us from landing at our scheduled time. We waited several minutes, but didn’t move. A few minutes later, the Captain announced that a tug was, "Stuck" on the plane & that our flight would be delayed for a few minutes, which it was. At the time, my assumption was that the fog issue must not be as bad as it had initially sounded, otherwise, Allegiant wouldn't take off, however, I now know that wasn't true. Allegiant knew that the chances of landing in Bellingham were slim to none at that point, yet they took off anyway. Upon arrival at Bellingham, we flew in circles for a while. The Captain eventually announced that he was unable to land due to the fog/visibility, but he would circle for a few more minutes on the off chance it cleared up. Of course, it did not., and we were informed that we would have to land in Pasco instead. After we landed in Pasco, a flight attendant announced that, because passengers boarded the plane, "Knowing" there was a weather advisory, that they were, "On their own" (this is, literally, what was announced over the intercom). Allegiant also kindly informed us that the airport was closed during the wee hours of the night, so staying at the airport was not an option. Allegiant literally abandoned it's plane full of customers (this was a sold out flight) in the middle no-where on a night where temperatures were below freezing due to Allegiants own choice to travel to a destination knowing they would not be able to land. Not only is Allegiant’s customer service appalling, but they violated a Federal regulation when they took off to a destination knowing they wouldn’t be able to land. I will NEVER fly Allegiant again. I have never in my life seen a company, airlines or not, treat it\'s customers with such little regard or respect.

[jimworcs]

Horrible experience and very much the norm for ultra low cost operations. Not sure what Federal law they violated though...

[azstar]

They may not have violated any law, but they certainly breached their contract with the passengers. A ticket is a "contract of carriage". The contract was to transport the passengers from Las Vegas to Bellingham, not Pasco. If the airline abandoned everyone in Pasco without taking them to Bellingham whenever the airport was operational, you would have a claim against them for damages. Take them to small claims court.

[The FAA]

I agree with azstar in spirit, but in practice I expect that Allegiant's COC provides them with the necessary defense in a small claims action. Sections 85.A -85.C cover irregular operations with 85.A providing for passenger options and 85.B providing the magic bullet phrase: "Carrier shall not be liable for any failure or delay in operating any flight due to causes beyond Carrier’s control, including but not limited to, acts of God, governmental actions, fire, weather, mechanical difficulties, Air Traffic Control, strikes or labor disputes, or inability to obtain fuel for the flight in question."

Allegiant can easily blame the OP's situation on the weather in Bellingham, so it is distinctly possible that a small claims action would net no result beyond the additional cost to file and serve the action.

The entire text of Allegiant's COC may be found here: https://www.allegiantair.com/aaImages/mediakit/COC.pdf