Allegiant Is Adding Free Drinks and a New Premium Cabin As Its Caribbean Network Grows With Sun Country

Allegiant has spent years making the airfare itself the starting point: low base fares, nonstop routes from smaller cities and a menu of extras you add when you want them. Now the leisure airline is putting more into the ticket — and preparing its most ambitious premium cabin yet.

Allegiant Travel Company has introduced complimentary drinks across Allegiant flights and is preparing to launch a new premium seating product called Allegiant First in spring 2027, an eight-seat cabin at the front of select aircraft with wider passenger benefits, more legroom and upgraded onboard service.

The changes come during a pivotal year for the company. Allegiant completed its acquisition of Sun Country Airlines on May 13, bringing the two leisure-focused carriers under the same corporate owner and giving Allegiant a much larger international footprint, including an extensive collection of routes to the Caribbean.

Allegiant and Sun Country are still flying as separate airlines while integration continues, so you’ll continue purchasing Sun Country flights from Sun Country and Allegiant flights from Allegiant for now.

Free Drinks Are Already Here

The first change is already on board.

Beginning Aug. 1, passengers on Allegiant flights started receiving complimentary nonalcoholic beverage service. The free choices include sodas, juice and water, a notable addition for an airline whose model has traditionally separated many onboard extras from the base fare.

Members who hold the Allways Rewards Visa card receive a broader selection of complimentary drinks, including coffee, protein shakes, sports drinks and alcoholic beverages with a mixer, subject to the airline’s applicable terms.

It gives passengers a small but tangible change on every flight, including the airline’s growing roster of leisure routes through Florida gateways such as Fort Lauderdale, one of Allegiant’s most important points for Caribbean-bound travelers making separate trip arrangements.

The larger change arrives next year.

What Is Allegiant First?

Allegiant First will introduce a dedicated premium section at the front of select aircraft beginning in spring 2027.

The cabin will have just eight seats in a two-by-two configuration, giving it a markedly different footprint from the airline’s standard cabin. Each seat will offer a 37-inch pitch, five inches of recline, a calf rest and an adjustable headrest, along with additional legroom.

Allegiant says upgraded amenities and service elements will accompany the seats, although the carrier has yet to detail every onboard component planned for the product.

The fare will also bundle several items passengers currently encounter as individual parts of the Allegiant travel experience.

An Allegiant First ticket will include one personal item, one carry-on bag and one checked bag weighing up to 70 pounds. Passengers will also receive priority check-in and priority boarding.

The airline expects the first Allegiant First flights to begin in spring 2027. Seats are expected to go on sale in mid-August.

Allegiant First will join Allegiant Extra, the carrier’s existing extra-legroom option, rather than replacing it. Travelers will eventually have several choices within the same aircraft, ranging from the airline’s traditional low-fare seats through Allegiant Extra and into the new eight-seat premium cabin.

A Different Allegiant Is Taking Shape

Allegiant has long concentrated on nonstop flying between small and midsize American cities and major leisure markets, with a route map very different from the hub-and-spoke systems operated by the largest U.S. airlines.

Its current Allegiant-operated network includes 566 routes across 124 U.S. cities, with an especially large presence in Florida vacation markets.

The acquisition of Sun Country adds another piece to the company’s leisure portfolio.

Allegiant Travel Company completed its purchase of Sun Country Airlines Holdings in May after receiving regulatory and shareholder approvals. Sun Country’s former publicly traded shares stopped trading following the transaction, while Allegiant Travel Company remains publicly traded under its existing ticker.

The two airline operations remain separate as they work toward a single operating certificate. There has been no immediate conversion of Sun Country flights into Allegiant flights, and each carrier continues using its own brand, reservations process and existing passenger policies during the integration period.

The corporate ownership, however, gives Allegiant a presence in international leisure markets far beyond the traditional Allegiant route map.

Allegiant Now Has a Much Bigger Caribbean Footprint

The Caribbean is one of the clearest examples.

Through Sun Country, the wider Allegiant company now has service to a collection of destinations across the region from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and, on selected routes, other U.S. gateways.

Sun Country’s recent Caribbean program has included Aruba, Grand Cayman, Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, San Juan in Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Roatán in Honduras and Montego Bay in Jamaica, among other warm-weather international markets in the wider Caribbean basin.

Sun Country has already opened its schedule through April 2027, with 12 destinations across the Caribbean and Central America planned for the winter season. The airline is also bringing back nonstop service between Minneapolis and Montego Bay, alongside increased international frequencies.

The international flying is particularly important in the context of the Allegiant acquisition. When the transaction was announced, the companies said Sun Country would give the wider airline business service to 18 international destinations across Mexico, Central America, Canada and the Caribbean.

Sun Country brings something else Allegiant historically hasn’t had in the same depth: a major international leisure operation centered on Minneapolis, with seasonal flying to resort destinations across the Caribbean.

You can see the geographic breadth in a single winter itinerary board. Punta Cana connects passengers with one of the Dominican Republic’s largest resort areas. San Juan gives U.S. travelers a passport-free Caribbean option. Aruba has long been one of the region’s strongest winter destinations, while routes to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Grand Cayman and Providenciales extend the company’s reach across several of the Caribbean’s busiest tourism markets.

What The Sun Country Deal Means On Board

The new premium cabin also provides an early look at how Allegiant is approaching the passenger experience after buying Sun Country.

Allegiant says the complimentary beverage program and Allegiant First are expected to become part of a broader commercial strategy as the two carriers are integrated.

“As we bring together two highly complementary leisure airlines, we see significant opportunity to expand complimentary and premium offerings in a way that strengthens the customer experience and supports the long-term growth of the combined company,” Allegiant Chief Commercial Officer Drew Wells said in announcing the changes.

The company is targeting several types of leisure passengers on the same aircraft: customers who primarily choose Allegiant for a low fare, passengers willing to pay for extra legroom and travelers prepared to spend more for a premium seat with bags and priority services included.

A Caribbean vacation provides an obvious test case for the latter category. Checked luggage, carry-ons and extra legroom carry greater weight on a weeklong trip to Aruba, Punta Cana or St. Maarten than they might on a quick domestic getaway. Bundling those features into a premium fare gives Allegiant another way to compete for leisure passengers who might otherwise compare it with traditional carriers offering first class or premium economy.

What Comes Next

The biggest questions now concern how quickly Allegiant First reaches the fleet and how closely the passenger experiences on Allegiant and Sun Country eventually resemble one another.

The company says Allegiant First will be phased into select aircraft, rather than appearing across the fleet immediately. Allegiant hasn’t yet released a complete list of aircraft or routes scheduled to receive the cabin first.

Sun Country will continue operating separately during the current integration period, including its Caribbean flying. Passengers with existing Sun Country reservations should continue dealing directly with Sun Country, while Allegiant passengers should use Allegiant’s existing channels.

Behind both airlines, however, there is now one corporate owner.

And as the integration advances toward 2027, Allegiant is entering the next phase with free drinks already being poured, an eight-seat premium cabin on the way and a Caribbean portfolio that now stretches from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to Aruba, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, St. Maarten and the U.S. Virgin Islands.