IF you are flying on Allegiant Airline into/out of Sanford/Orlando (SFB), be ready to be confused.
– Terminal Confusion: Terminal A and Terminal B are not connected. You have to go outside to get from one to the other. This wouldn’t be a problem except that Allegiant has ticketing in both terminals by destination with no overlap. This is not clear. Don’t get in a line for Allentown if you need to go to South Bend. Don’t get in a line in Terminal A for destination posted over in Terminal B – you are wasting your time. They don’t make this clear where you are dropping off or even until you get to a ticket desk after waiting in a long line with your 3 kids and 6 pieces of luggage. Clear signage would help.
– Confusing Rest Rooms: Two halves of one men’s room were not connected! Normally this would not be a problem, but in this case it is – if you need a urinal, it’s in the adjacent rest room and you have to go out to get to it. If you need a toilet, same thing. No signs to let you know, so if you are in a hurry or there is a rush just off the plane, you are either lucky or you are SOL. Fortunately they both have sinks. Not all of the rest rooms have water coolers by them, and fewer had ones that were working. (However, this helps the businesses selling the bottled water with no posted prices.)
– Maximum Gate Confusion: The gates in Terminal A ARE connected but with only one seating area. Gates 1 through 5 use one seating area, one boarding desk, and one hall to the gates for boarding. The information desk is removed from the crowd to the point of inaccessibility, so they look at you funny if you approach their domain to inquire about your flight. It’s pretty confusing if there is more than one plane boarding at a time. (This is how you could wind up going to South Bend on a ticket to Allentown.) It’s pretty confusing even if there aren’t multiple boardings: The intercom announcements are the normal garbled noise and they end up having to make numerous “final boarding calls” or calling for passengers by name, even to the point of coming over to the seating area and making verbal announcements! It gets worse – – they board by numerical zones. Flight 5-2-4, Gate 3, is now boarding Zones 2, 3, 4, and 5.)
– Confusing Delays: In our case, on 8/1/14, we were delayed 2 hours, we were switched to another plane and another gate, we had a second plane with mechanical problems, and we sat in the hot sun with a non-functioning air system for most of one of those 2 hours. Information was sketchy. The stewardesses tried to let us know what was happening, but either they didn’t know or they couldn’t explain it. Updates were regular and exasperated but the information was sketchy and the expected times were fiction. Twice we got text messages to let us know when the new departure time was received 10 min. after the departure time on the texts. I finally said I think I need some water. Then they passed out cups of water with ice for those in need in our communal sauna. When we were finally in the air, they offered everyone free beverages, but couldn’t do the same for snacks. (Maybe it’s a paperwork issue.)
If you are traveling through Sanford on Allegiant, just remember: allow extra time and patience and – caveat emptor.
