I fly out of Concord, NC on Allegiant often. They give absolutely no issue at all. THey've never asked to open the box to "verify that the gun is unloaded." I just sign the little slip and put it in the suitcase. Off it goes behind the curtain to see the wizard.
At CLT, you have to be escorted by a TSA staffer allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way to the far let of the check-in area to the pilot/crew check-in (pain in the ass if you're flying SWA as they're on the far extreme right of the check-in concourse). You go in, open the bag, open the box, show the expert-in-TSA-blue that the gun is unloaded, he says "ok", and you walk allllllllllllllllllllllll the way back to the counter. Then you wait for your bag to be special zapped/screened behind the wall, and the TSA hermit comes out to give you a thumbs up--like you're extra special dangerous if you're going through all the rigormoro checking a gun.
Good to know. My wife and I did not fly from 2002-2018 until my wife convinced me to go on a cruise out of Tampa. Since I used to live in St. Petersburg, and Allegiant flys from Concord to PIE, I decided to try them.
The low fare price was also a big factor. I was prepared for a nightmare scenario with the TSA.
Basically being newbies all over again, my wife and I tried to take her mega-Oz bottles of lotion, bug spray, etc. thru the security checkpoint.
We had our plastic baggies with all the little ones in our carryon luggage but of course a week trip with a woman....
Needless to say, we were immediately flagged for said mega-Bottles of lotion and aerosol bug spray (the horror!) packed just for the jungles of Belize....but I tell you right now, the TSA people at that airport were the most
kind, professional, and accommodating security people I have ever encountered. They allowed us (me) to take said offensive dangerous liquids and check the bags, then return thru security.
I wondered how they would have dealt with a firearm. I know that in CLT, having a gun in a carry-on is an arrestable offense, but somehow I think these people would know how to deal with it slightly better.