Allegiant Air
| File:Allegiantlogo.png | |||||||
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| Founded | 1997 (as WestJet Express)[1] | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | June 1998[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | focus_cities= | ||||||
| Fleet size | 38 | ||||||
| Destinations | 61 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Enterprise, Nevada | ||||||
| Key people | Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. (President and CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.allegiantair.com | ||||||
Allegiant Air (Nasdaq: ALGT), is an American low-cost airline, owned by Allegiant Travel Co. headquartered in Enterprise, Nevada, United States. The airline operates scheduled and charter flights from a hub at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, and focus cities at Orlando Sanford International Airport, St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Bellingham International Airport. The airline also offers vacation packages through its Allegiant Vacations affiliate.
Allegiant Air targets small cities with limited passenger airline service. Some Allegiant destinations are secondary airports that are close to large metropolitan areas; others are small markets with little or no other airline service. [citation needed]
History
Allegiant Air was founded in 1997 under the name WestJet Express[1]. After a trademark dispute with West Jet Air Center of Rapid City, South Dakota and with the name's similarity to WestJet Airlines of Calgary, Alberta, the airline adopted the name Allegiant Air and received its operating certificate for scheduled and charter domestic operations in 1998. The airline also has authority for charter service to Canada and Mexico. Wholly owned by Allegiant Travel, the airline now has over 800 employees.
Scheduled service began on October 15, 1999, between Las Vegas and the airline's initial hub in Fresno, California, with Douglas DC-9-21 and DC-9-51 aircraft. Shortly after the shut down of WinAir Airlines, Allegiant Air opened a hub in Long Beach, California, mirroring WinAir's network. The airline was unable to bring in enough revenue to cover its costs, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 13, 2000.
In June 2001, Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. joined the airline and soon became its President and Chief Executive Officer. Having formerly worked with WestAir and ValuJet Airlines, Gallagher led the airline's transformation into its present form, moving the base to Las Vegas and focusing on smaller markets that larger airlines did not serve. From 2001, they have grown from 2 destinations to over 50 from Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Florida, and St Petersburg, Florida
On November 20, 2006, Allegiant Air announced that it had filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in anticipation of a planned initial public offering of its Common Stock. It is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol "ALGT".
On July 31, 2007, the airline announced plans to open a fourth focus city and operations base at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona, connecting the Phoenix metropolitan area to 13 destinations already served by Allegiant. The airline began service out of their new focus city on October 25, 2007. [2]
On August 1, 2007, Allegiant also announced plans to open their fifth focus city and make an operations base at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, connecting the South Florida area to destinations already served by Allegiant. The airline began service in this focus city November 14, 2007.
Along with Southwest Airlines the airline was the only major United States airline to make a profit in the first quarter of the oil-driven economic crisis of 2008.
Allegiant Vacations
Allegiant Vacations functions as an in house package vacation vendor. The company has arrangements with 34 hotel properties in Las Vegas and 21 in the Orlando and Daytona Beach, Florida areas. The vacations division also has partnerships with several rental car agencies and show-ticket vendors.
At least for some routes, air travel must be purchased along with hotel accommodations, a two-night minimum stay in the case of Champaign, IL to Las Vegas, NV, for example.
Destinations
Allegiant Air currently flies to 61 destinations throughout the United States. Upcoming schedule changes will increase Allgiant's destination count to 63 when the airline begins service to Appleton, Wisconsin on August 21, Casper, Wyoming on September 19, and Grand Forks, North Dakota on September 29, 2008, and ends service to Green Bay, Wisconsin on August 20, 2008. All bookings begin or end at one of the six focus cities/operational bases, therefore, travel reservations between any of the other cities must be reserved through separate bookings and checked luggage be claimed and re-checked in one of the six focus cities.
Announced on January 29, 2008, Allegiant opened their sixth base at Washington's Bellingham International Airport on March 1, 2008. The airline is basing two McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft in Bellingham as part of the expansion. [3]
New routes
- Nonstop service between Appleton, WI (ATW) and Las Vegas, NV (LAS) begins August 21, 2008.
- Nonstop service between Casper, WY (CPR) and Las Vegas, NV (LAS) begins September 19, 2008.
- Nonstop service between Grand Forks, ND (GFK) and Las Vegas, NV (LAS) begins September 29, 2008.
Discontinued routes
- Nonstop service between Green Bay, WI (GRB) and Las Vegas, NV (LAS) ends August 20, 2008.
Fleet
As of June 2008, Allegiant Air has an all McDonnell Douglas fleet of 38 aircraft consisting of:[4]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Economy) |
Routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | 5 | 150 | All |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 8 | 150 | Based In Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg/Clearwater |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 18 | 150 | All |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 4 | 130 | Based in Tunica and Fort Lauderdale |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-88 | 3 | 150 | All |
As of June 2008, the average age of the Allegiant Air fleet was 18.5 years.[5]
Incidents and accidents
On March 29, 2007, Allegiant Air Flight 758, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft which took off from Pease International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, experienced a hydraulic failure which prevented the front landing gear from deploying. As a result, the aircraft circled in a holding pattern for over half an hour to lighten the fuel load, and then made an emergency landing at Orlando Sanford International Airport. Upon landing, some sparks and smoke were observed under the nose of the aircraft. The passengers and crew members evacuated via emergency evacuation slides. Only one injury was reported; a woman suffered a minor ankle injury during the evacuation, but she refused treatment. The airport was closed for some time due to the emergency.[6][7]
Charter information
Allegiant currently has two contracts for track programs with Harrah's Entertainment. Two aircraft are provided, one based in Reno, Nevada and the other in Laughlin, Nevada, bringing customers from cities across the United States to the Harrah's Nevada casinos, additionally Allegiant added two new aircraft to support a new contract with Harrah's in Tunica, Mississippi. Allegiant markets its charter services to a variety of customers in need of on demand charter services, such as university athletic teams, corporations, and governments.
References
- ^ a b c Norwood, Tom (2002). North American Airlines Handbook (3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. pp. p. 8. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "ALLEGIANT AIR ANNOUNCES NEW BASE IN PHOENIX-MESA: Airline to Launch Low-Cost Service Oct. 25" (Press release). Allegiant Air. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Allegiant to open base at Bellingham International Airport
- ^ Allegiant Air Fleet Detail
- ^ Allegiant Air Fleet Age
- ^ "Jet With 147 Passengers On Board Makes Emergency Landing". WCVB-TV. 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Allegiant Jet Moved After Emergency Landing". WESH. 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
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- Franklin, John (November/December 2005). "Allegiant Air: Finding a Niche in Las Vegas and Orlando". Airliners: The World's Airline Magazine. World Transport Press. pp. 35–39.
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