Flight Critique: Allegiant Air Flight 1586 (PVU-PDX)

1.) Aircraft: Airbus A320. Fourth time flying with Allegiant Air, sixth time overall experiencing an ultra low-cost carrier. Being that this is a flight on a ULCC, expectations had to be managed regarding the type of service from this airline and catered to my needs and travel style by paying for the extras on top of the base fare; in my case, I paid for seat selection as well as for a carry-on bag in order to utilize the overhead storage bin.

2.) Flight Time: Approximately 1 hour, 50 minutes

3.) Flight departed relatively on-time; early morning flights have a less likelihood of something going wrong.

4.) Being a firm believer in the fact that flying commercial (whether it be full-service or low-cost carriers) is much more enjoyable with at least a drink to enjoy while en route, I "splurged" on myself by purchasing a drink and snack from the buy-on-board menu.

5.) Flight was mostly-full but given the short duration, it was tolerable. I actually lucked out with an empty seat next to mine, which gave me room to stretch out (the poor man's Business Class!). As always, Provo-based crew were pleasant people. Overall, the flight did it's job of getting me from Point A to Point B, which is what the primary task of any low-cost carrier should ALWAYS be!

Photos from the flight:

Allegiant Air Airbus A320-214 (N262NV), the plane that would take me back to Portland getting towed to the gate from the remote stand after being parked overnight. My flight home is the airframe's first flight of the day. This is the same plane I flew on into Provo at the start of this quick weekend getaway. Having established Provo as a base last year, Allegiant now bases at least four aircraft at Provo, so it's not surprising that I ended up flying the same airframe on both my inbound and outbound flights. Regardless, Allegiant's presence in Provo has come a long way since I was last here five years ago; from when they operated out of an FBO with just weekly flights that came in and out to now operating out of a brand-spanking-new terminal with aircraft and crew now based here!

Airborne out of Provo and over Utah Lake after departing off of 13. View of Provo and BYU's Y Mountain is barely visible.

Continuing the bank with Spanish Fork and Springville visible.

A brief glimpse of Spanish Fork Airport, where I got my license. One of these days, I'll have to return to SPK for a visit!

Along the southern half of Utah Lake, looking down towards the Payson-area and the south practice areas, where I practiced my flying maneuvers many times!

Turned northbound now, flying parallel to Fairfield, on the obstacle departure procedure, something I'm also all-too familiar with.

Now directly over Salt Lake City and turning northwest bound.

Northwest bound over the Great Salt Lake.

Leaving the last bit of familiar Utah territory behind as we continued onwards towards Idaho and the Pacific Northwest.

Utah now in the rearview mirror (so to speak!) and into Idaho. Honestly, there was not much to see sitting on the left side of the airplane until we descended into the Portland-area.

Still, I can't get enough of the Idaho countryside!

But this was the sight I was banking on when I chose to sit on the left side of the plane!

You know you're back in Oregon when catch a glimpse of Mt. Hood!

Even though it's the end of July, there's always snow lingering on the mountain.

Mt. Hood also signals the end of this relatively short flight and unique route operated by Allegiant between their fairly-new Provo base and Portland.

On final approach for Runway 28L into PDX. Downtown Portland is visible in the background.

Just crossing over I-205 on short-final for 28L.

Clearing off 28L and taxiing to gate.

And back at the same gate (the only gate Allegiant uses at PDX!) this quick weekend trip started from. While this was a quick trip, it's nice to be flying commercial again, considering that my first commercial airline flight in quite a while was just November of last year and I've gotten to fly several times this year already...

And after a quick turn, N262NV carries on with its day, seen here taxiing for departure as AAY1590 for the Idaho Falls run, the route and flight number I flew just month ago! After disembarking, I made a beeline for the short-term parking garage to get a little plane-spotting in before my ride picked me up.

AAY1590 departing on 28L for Idaho Falls. It's always exciting (and such an AvGeek thing to do!) to see and note the airframe one flies on!

Flight Critique: Allegiant Air Flight 3245 (PDX-PVU)

1.) Aircraft: Airbus A320. Third time flying with Allegiant Air, fifth time overall experiencing an ultra low-cost carrier. Being that this is a flight on a ULCC, expectations had to be managed regarding the type of service from this airline and catered to my needs and travel style by paying for the extras on top of the base fare; in my case, I paid for seat selection as well as for a carry-on bag in order to utilize the overhead storage bin.

2.) Flight Time: Approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes

3.) Flight departed 45 minutes behind schedule due to a few late-arriving passengers.

4.) Being a firm believer in the fact that flying commercial (whether it be full-service or low-cost carriers) is much more enjoyable with at least a drink to enjoy while en route, I "splurged" on myself by purchasing a drink and snack from the buy-on-board menu.

5.) Flight was full but given the short duration, it was tolerable. And the Provo-based crew were pleasant people. Overall, the flight did it's job of getting me from Point A to Point B, which is what the primary task of any low-cost carrier should ALWAYS be!

Photos from the flight:

Allegiant Air Airbus A320-214 (N262NV) arriving on its inbound flight from Idaho Falls as AAY3229, the same route and flight number I flew earlier this month at the end of my Idaho vacation.

N262NV taxiing to the gate. As is the case with any Allegiant Airbus with the older wingtip fence, this airframe is a second-hand in their fleet. Previously flew with Saudi Arabian Airlines as HZ-AS15. This is a much older airframe at 14 years old and first delivered to the Saudi carrier in 2009 after being built in Toulouse, France.

A few minutes after getting airborne out of PDX and already going east and then southeast bound.

A view of Mt. Jefferson out in the distance as we crossed the Cascade range going in towards central Oregon.

Landscape below has changed, with a view of the mighty Snake River, which means we were well-into Idaho.

View of Mountain Home Air Force Base, which meant we were just past Boise.

Passing Twin Falls, Idaho with a view of Twin Falls Regional Airport.

Coming up over the northern shores of the Great Salt Lake, which means we were nearing the end of the flight.

Continuing the descent towards Provo as we hugged the eastern shoreline of the Great Salt Lake.

Now over Utah Lake and passing by Saratoga Springs.

Short final for Runway 13 into Provo.

Landing rollout on Runway 13, a runway I'm very familiar with, having utilized it on my earliest days of flight training. Great to be back in Utah, but definitely still some mixed feelings about flying into Provo, where my experiences with UVU's aviation program was less-than-stellar...

Parked at the gate, right next to a Breeze Airways E-195! Still, flying into Provo certainly feels convenient and a great alternative to Salt Lake City, especially since the former now has a brand-new terminal while latter is undergoing a major terminal renovations!

Flight Critique: Allegiant Air Flight 3229 (IDA-PDX)

1.) Aircraft: Airbus A320. Second time flying with Allegiant Air, fourth time overall experiencing an ultra low-cost carrier. Being that this is a flight on a ULCC, expectations had to be managed regarding the type of service from this airline and catered to my needs and travel style by paying for the extras on top of the base fare; in my case, I paid for seat selection as well as for a carry-on bag in order to utilize the overhead storage bin.

2.) Flight Time: Approximately 1 hour, 30 minutes

3.) Flight was relatively on-time thanks to a decently-quick turn-around, which was appreciated.

4.) Being a firm believer in the fact that flying commercial (whether it be full-service or low-cost carriers) is much more enjoyable with at least a drink to enjoy while en route, I again "splurged" on myself by purchasing a drink and snack from the buy-on-board menu.

5.) Flight was full but given the short duration, it was tolerable. And the crew were pleasant people. Overall, the flight did it's job of getting me from Point A to Point B, which is what the primary task of any low-cost carrier should ALWAYS be!

Photos from the flight:

Allegiant Air Airbus A320-214 (N285NV), the plane that would take me home arriving on its inbound flight from Portland as AAY1590.

N285NV taxiing up to the gate. Unlike the A320 I flew on coming into Idaho Falls, this airframe is second-hand in Allegiant's fleet. It was first built in 2012 at Airbus' Toulouse factory and delivered to Cebu Pacific Air as RP-C3238 before Allegiant took it on. Not bad for an 11-year old airframe. 

Airborne and turning westbound with a glimpse of the Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, albeit through a dirty window...

Leveled off and well-on our way to PDX.

Near Sun Valley as we continued westbound.

Nearing Boise as we continued westbound. There were quite a few areas under overcast skies, so the views got even more limited as we kept going westbound.

Crossing int Oregon over the Snake River near Ontario, Oregon.

Passing The Dalles as we descended into Portland. There was definitely some significant weather north into Washington.

Passing by Hood River as we continued descending into Portland.

Passed through a solid overcast layer, welcome back to western Oregon.

A view of Portland-Troutdale Airport as we turned onto final approach for Runway 28R at PDX.

Another angle of Troutdale Airport.

After landing rollout, we cleared 28R and taxied to the gate, ending a week-and-a-half of vacation.