Is it time for the FAA to shutdown Allegiant Air? That’s the question I’m asking myself after yet another incident involving the discount air carrier. Allegiant Air Flight 682 with service from Orlando to Grand Rapids, Michigan, returned to the gate 3 times last Wednesday afternoon before the flight was officially canceled. Each time the plane returned to the gate, the passengers were moved onto another aircraft. This means that a total of 3 different airplanes had issues.
The first airplane took to the skies 20 minutes behind schedule, but headed back to Orlando after half an hour due to a problem with a sensor. The second airplane returned to the gate after beginning to taxi due to a sensor indicated that one of the airplanes 2 engines was overheating. The third had to go back after leaving the gate due to aircraft cabin lighting issues. According to the airline, passengers were offered a hotel room for the night, the option to rebook their flight or get a full refund without charge, and a $200 voucher for future travel.
Shutdown Allegiant Air to improve passenger confidence
I went to book a $29 each way ticket on the Allegiant Air website to Albuquerque, New Mexico. This was for a new route from Austin that had just been announced. However, I did not complete the purchase due to the fact that I did not want to potentially risk our safety flying on this airline. I’m sure that all airlines have daily issues with aircraft, but there seems to be a rash of reports popping up about this specific carrier. The airline is suffering from labor turmoil, so maybe these issues are coming to light due to the pressure being applied by the airline’s employee groups. If the FAA were to step in and shutdown Allegiant Air pending a review of the airlines maintenance procedures, the result could be a major improvement in consumer confidence for the airline upon completion of the process.
Image from www.allegiantair.com