Allegiant flooded with flight change requests amid coronavirus scare

Allegiant Air is being flooded with calls from travelers requesting to change planned flights as the new coronavirus fears continue, making it difficult for some customers to get through.

The Las Vegas-based airline announced Sunday it isn’t charging passengers a change fee if they feel inclined to adjust dates on a planned trip.

The offer has led to a high volume of calls to Allegiant’s customer service line as various occasions are being affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

“I have reservations on Allegiant and have been calling several times a day for three days to cancel and their customer service line is always busy,” said Linda Gonzales, an Allegiant customer who reached out to the Review-Journal via email after her difficulties with the flight change.

Hilarie Grey, Allegiant spokeswoman, said the airline has seen an influx of callers since the no-fee deal was announced and events began to be affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

“For us, these are now picking up as the events people were planning to travel for — sports events, concerts, and others— are being canceled,” Grey said.

Despite the influx of calls, Allegiant has yet to make any changes to its flight schedule as other airlines such as American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have in recent days.

Grey suggests those having a hard time getting through try other avenues to make the change.

“We have a number of channels they can reach out through in addition to the call center — via email, web chat, Twitter and Facebook, via direct message,” Grey said. “Changes are being prioritized by departure date.”

For example, flights that are leaving the next day or next week that need changing will be serviced ahead of those scheduled for one month from now, Grey said.

“As long as their requests are in — if we have an email or a direct message — ahead of their flight date, they will be honored,” she said. “So people don’t have to repeatedly email us or keep checking after they’ve sent a direct message on social.”

Allegiant customers who want to make a flight change can get more information on the process on the airline’s website.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.