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For the first time, you can book an Allegiant Air flight … in first-class.
The longtime budget airline just started selling seats in its brand-new premium cabin, which will be known as “Allegiant First.”
The first flights sporting the new recliner seats will depart starting in March 2027, the airline revealed in an email to customers in recent days.
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Right away, though, you can head to Allegiant’s website and find certain routes that offer the first-class option.
Allegiant’s first-class: What to know before booking
For instance, here’s a March 2027 flight from Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) in Florida to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) in Mascoutah, Illinois. Allegiant’s classic, no-frills economy fare starts at $167. A first-class seat will run you about two and a half times the cost, at $428 one-way.
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An Allegiant First ticket will be far from a typical budget airline-style fare. Along with the (much) nicer seat, passengers will get a free full-sized carry-on bag and a free checked bag. Plus, those fares will be fully refundable and won’t come with change fees.
Which routes will get Allegiant First?
How will you know which Allegiant routes will have first-class seats?
From the outset, it’ll be a bit of a scavenger hunt.
The carrier plans to start by deploying its Allegiant First cabin exclusively on routes in and out of Punta Gorda, the Southwest Florida airport where it’s long had a significant presence.
Going forward, Allegiant expects to outfit the first-class seats on newly-delivered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. So if you’re flying anytime soon on one of the airline’s many Airbus planes, you likely won’t have first-class as an option.
Ultimately, Allegiant tells TPG it expects a total of 23 airplanes to get first-class seats — so it certainly won’t be a fixture across its fleet.
After acquiring Sun Country Airlines earlier this year, Allegiant’s combined fleet was expected to total about 195 aircraft. So you’d see first-class on about 12% of its jets.
Still, this move to add first-class to its planes is a major shift for an airline that’s long offered a no-frills on-board experience — and the latest example of a major budget airline in the U.S. hoping to tap into consumers’ willingness to pay for nicer seats.
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