Allegiant Air
| File:Allegiantlogo.png | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1997 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | McCarran International Airport Orlando Sanford International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 21 | ||||||
| Destinations | 43 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada | ||||||
| Key people | Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. (President and CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.allegiantair.com | ||||||
Allegiant Air is an airline headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada that operates scheduled services and charter flights. The airline is wholly owned by privately held Allegiant Travel Co. The airline also provides complete vacation packages through its Allegiant Vacations affiliate, featuring 34 hotel properties in Las Vegas and 21 in the Orlando and Daytona Beach, Florida areas. The vacations division also has partnerships with rental car agencies and show-ticket vendors.
A number of Allegiant destinations are secondary airports that are closer to a large metropolitan area. However, some are small markets with little or no airline service other than Allegiant.
History
Allegiant Air was founded in 1997 under the name WestJet Express. 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 addopted 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.
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, the Allegiant 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.
Destinations
Alligiant Air currently flies to 43 destinations in 27 states.
Fleet
Allegiant currently operates a fleet of 23 aircraft, all members of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family.
In March 2006, the average age of Allegiant Air fleet is 16.5 years
Charter info
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. 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
- 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.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)