Articles tagged “allegiant air”

Allegiant Air, which long operated an all-Airbus fleet, surprised everyone with its order for up to 100 Boeing 737 Maxes. The Las Vegas-based budget airline says the move is "opportunistic," but whatever it is, it's a shot in the arm for beleaguered Boeing.

Most trans-border joint ventures are between major airlines, like Delta and Aeromexico. But Allegiant Air and Mexico's Viva Aerobus are proposing a low-cost-carrier alliance that they say would boost brand awareness for both airlines and give travelers more options.

Allegiant Air CEO Maurice Gallagher thought returning to 2019 levels of flying would be as easy as "turning on a switch." He was wrong, and disruptions cost the airline millions during the third quarter. Still, Allegiant managed a rare pandemic-era achievement by turning a profit and increasing revenues vs. the 2019 period.

In an industry record, four budget airlines generated more revenue from ancillaries than they did from ticket sales in 2020. More importantly, ancillary revenue grew across all of the largest airlines last year despite the crisis.

Travel is relative to people's needs and right now leisure is king — especially for cooped-up college kids. If airlines want to cash in on pent-up demands, servicing underserved locations offering a combination of nature outings and social distancing is key to increasing revenue output during the pandemic.

Allegiant said it saw the "end of history" on March 1, but its focus on domestic, primarily leisure flights gives it cause for optimism. Still, the airline doesn't think a meaningful recovery will occur until sometime next year at the earliest.

The messaging about the U.S. airline recovery includes some, shall we say, irrational exuberance. Sure, some people will always want or need to fly. But many more want to manage their risk, and that's hard to do when the United States can't control a raging pandemic.