Las Vegas based Allegiant Air is most profitable airline in US

October 21, 10:59 PMLas Vegas ExaminerCharles Higgins

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Allegiant Air MD80 aircraft

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Allegiant Air reported a 13.8 million dollar profit for the third quarter ending September 30, and this represented the 27th consecutive quarter that the Vegas - based airline recorded a net quarterly profit. Most all other domestic US carriers were on the red side of the profit ledger for that same quarter and for most of the recent past. Allegiant has established a flight service reputation involving cheap, no frills fares to and from smaller and more regional communities with service to getaway locales such as Las Vegas, Orlando, and Tampa Bay. A core protocol of this airline is to offer service to those aforementioned , smaller communities that the majority of other domestic carriers do not provide service to. Cities such as Bellingham WA, Casper WY, Eugene OR, Duluth MN, and Stockton CA are a few representative regional communities that Allegiant serves. The company occasionally offers wild $9 fares to spur promotional business and attempts to minimize it's operational costs by flying older MD80 equipment (minimizes capital equipment expenditures), ignoring high - end business travelers (first class seats don't exist), flying only 2 - 3 trips per destination weekly to ensure full flights,  and by ensuring that flight crews return to their respective home bases each night to cut operational lodging and meal expenditures. By operating only 44 jets to 69 cities, the airline is comparatively small relative to other carriers but has undergone recent expansion with added destinations and routes. The described cost squeezing practices allow the airline to offer relatively cheaper base fares to it's customers during a time when cheap is cool. Allegiant's average fare is listed at just over $67 each. Allegiant does, however, institute fees for most other services including baggage fees, reserved seating, and online booking fees among several others. They are in ways setting precedents for add - on fees as depicted in an earlier Las Vegas Examiner article. Collectively, employing all the above practices has allowed Allegiant to turn more profit per dollar of invested revenue than any other US airline, including iconic discounters such as Southwest  and Jet Blue.

Allegiant has multiple Vegas hotel partners such as Aria & Vdara (City Center hotels to open in December 2009 as outlined in this recent Las Vegas Examiner article ), MGM Grand, Mirage, Flamingo, Harrah's, and Mandalay Bay. They are also presently offering $30 ticket discounts for the famous Blue Man Group show at the Venetian. Refer to this Allegiant  link to view other Vegas hotel partners, Vegas deals, all the cities that Allegiant serves from Las Vegas, and to book flights. 

I have never flown this airline to Vegas because it does not offer service to my home airport. In some areas this is in fact a possible negative tradeoff for some air travelers, even though comparative fares are supposedly less expensive. In my particular case, I'd have to drive about three hours to the nearest city they service to fly to Vegas. It's likely that by the time I involved myself with all the preparatory requirements and additive costs, I'd be dollars ahead to jump on Southwest and have fewer overall headaches. That scenario obviously doesn't apply for many travelers judging from Allegiant's popularity and revenue numbers. You can bet your proverbial bippy that if they offered a $9 fare from that nearest service city, I'd be first in line. Check the above link to determine if Allegiant services an airport near you and how all the associated costs compare with your standard carrier. Don't neglect to include all those assorted add - on fees including checked baggage charges when you make total airfare cost comparisons. It's worth your time.

Please leave comments in response to the posed question below.

Cheers...

Charles Higgins

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News sources for this article :

- www.petergreenberg.com

- St. Petersburg Times

COMMENTS QUESTION : Have you flown via Allegiant Air to Vegas or another destination and if so, what was your overall impression?