The headline's a double meaning: Not only is the fast-growing ultra-lowcost carrier adding some new destinations again, but for the first time in its history, Allegiant has ordered brand new planes.
The carrier has made a specialty of identifying markets that are underserved or where fares are high, and offering no-frills discount flights to vacation destinations, using planes it's bought second-hand. It's paid off for them: Allegiant has a 54-quarter record of profits going.
The newest route additions will connect Trenton, NJ, a near neighbor to Philadelphia, to Orlando, Punta Gorda and St. Petersburg, Florida. It's also just added San Juan, Puerto Rico to its network.
The carrier's announcement that it's buying a dozen new Airbus A320s isn't as much of a change as it might seem. CEO Maury Gallagher says “We have always looked at building our fleet opportunistically, and this agreement is no exception. With Airbus preparing to transition production of its current engine option models to new engine option models, we were able to negotiate an order for twelve end-of-line slots.”
The airline started with surplus MD80s and has been phasing them out, but it still has 50 or so, along with about 70 A320s.
Photo by Airbus
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