History of Allegiant Air, Routes

Allegiant Air is an American low-cost airline owned by Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT) that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a publicly traded company with 1,300 employees and one billon USD market capitalization. The corporate headquarters is in Enterprise, unincorporated Clark County, Nevada.

The airline also offers vacation packages through its Allegiant Vacations affiliate. In addition to continued service at Orlando Sanford International Airport, Orlando International Airport became an Allegiant focus city, on February 1, 2010, for one year, and closed on February 1, 2011. Grand Rapids, Michigan, became Allegiant's latest focus city at Gerald R. Ford International Airport on April 27, 2010.

History

Allegiant 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 Canada, 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 1,300 employees.

Scheduled service began on October 15, 1999, between Las Vegas and the airline's initial hub in Fresno, California, at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport, with Douglas DC-9-21 and DC-9-51 aircraft. Shortly after the shutdown of WinAir Airlines, Allegiant Air opened a hub in Long Beach, California, mirroring WinAir's network. Allegiant 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 with mainline aircraft. From 2001, they have grown from 2 destinations to over 50 from Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Florida, and St Petersburg, Florida.

In November 2006, Allegiant 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".

In July 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 and one new destination. The airline began service out of its new focus city on October 25, 2007. The airport announced a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) expansion in August 2008 which will increase the number of gates from two to four and allow Allegiant to triple the number of flights from Phoenix. The expansion will be funded by a loan from Allegiant which will be repaid by passenger fees.

In August 2007, Allegiant also announced plans to open its 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.

In January 2008, Allegiant opened its sixth base at Washington's Bellingham International Airport. The airline is basing two McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft in Bellingham as part of the expansion. Routes served exclusively from Bellingham include Las Vegas, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Expansion in Bellingham has been largely driven by its proximity to Vancouver, Canada.

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. Los Angeles International Airport became Allegiant's seventh base.

In February 2010, Orlando International Airport became Allegiant's eighth base. Just nine months later and after careful evaluation of the routes operating out of Orlando International Airport, Allegiant, citing an inability to achieve a fare premium at MCO as anticipated, a strong passenger preference for Orlando Sanford International Airport, higher costs at MCO than expected and a more efficient operating environment at SFB, announced the consolidation and return of its Orlando Area operations to Orlando Sanford International Airport.

In February 2010, Allegiant announced its ninth base at Grand Rapids' Gerald R. Ford International Airport. The airline is basing two McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft in Grand Rapids as part of the expansion. In March 2010, Allegiant announced the purchase of six used Boeing 757s as part of plans to begin flights to Hawaii, with deliveries from spring of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011. On September 14, 2010, Allegiant announced it would begin flights in and out of Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport starting at the end of November 2010.

Allegiant Travel Company has garnered accolades from several business and industry publications for its financial stability and sustained success in a volatile economy. On July 21, 2010, Allegiant Travel Company was named Top Performing Airline in the low cost category by Aviation Week, an industry trade magazine, after posting more than 33 consecutive profitable quarters. The following month, Allegiant was included in Fortune's 100 fastest growing companies, entering the list at number 25. These awards were followed in November with Allegiant being included in the Forbes Magazine “America’s 100 Best Small Companies” in which the company was listed at 33.

Routes

The airline's focus is on leisure travelers, particularly those in colder northern climates, going to warm-weather tourist destinations such as Tampa Bay, Las Vegas, Orlando, or Phoenix. The airline offers a lower frequency of flights and no amenities such as frequent flier points or on-board entertainment. As a result, Allegiant carries few business passengers.

Allegiant also operates air charters which contribute 7% of its revenue. The company has two contracts with Harrah's Entertainment with two aircraft based at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport to ferry customers to Harrah's casinos. Additionally, Allegiant has two aircraft based at Tunica Municipal Airport to support a charter contract to transport gaming customers to Harrah's casinos including Tunica and New Orleans. One additional aircraft is based in Wendover to support charters for Peppermill casinos. It also transports firefighters for the United States Forest Service and college basketball players and staff.

Allegiant had a contract to supply charter flights from Miami to four cities in Cuba. Flights began in June 2009. One aircraft was committed to the contract. The contract was for fixed-fee flying, meaning all they have to do is provide the dry aircraft and the flight crew. The contractor is responsible for all other costs including fuel. Allegiant ended this service in August 2009.

Allegiant currently flies to 71 destinations throughout the United States. With a few exceptions, all bookings are considered "one way" and begin or end at one of the nine focus cities/operational bases; therefore, travel reservations between any of the other cities must be reserved through separate bookings and checked luggage claimed and re-checked in one of the nine focus cities.

The airline may provide new service from Pangborn Memorial Airport (EAT) in Wenatchee, Washington, according to the airport manager. Allegiant Air is actively pursuing the opportunity to serve Paine Field (PAE) in Everett, Washington, (25 mi (40 km) north of Seattle). The company has filed a complaint with the FAA at the county's opposition to the plan. Additionally, Allegiant Air is also very interested in serving Salem, Oregon -- conversations are continuing.

On February 1, 2010, Allegiant began operations at Orlando International Airport (MCO). The company moved one half of its Orlando schedule to Orlando International Airport in order to test revenue streams at the higher cost airport. After evaluating the routes out of Orlando International, the carrier decided to consolidate and return its Orlando area operations at the original Orlando Sanford International Airport base citing an inability to achieve a fare premium at MCO as anticipated, a strong passenger preference for Orlando Sanford International Airport, higher costs at MCO than expected and a more efficient operating environment at SFB.