Allegiant Air - History

History

Allegiant Air was founded in January of 1997 by Mitch Allee (Owner, CEO), Jim Patterson (President) and Capt. Dave Beadle (Chief Pilot). The airline received FAA and DOT Certification in June of 1998.

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 has over 1,800 employees.

Scheduled service began on October 15, 1998 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 on December 13, 2000, Allegiant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., the major creditor of the airline, gained control of the business during reorganization.

In June 2001, Gallagher restructured the airline to a low-cost model and moved the headquarters and operations to Las Vegas, where they remain as of 2012. Having formerly worked with WestAir and ValuJet Airlines, Gallagher led the airline's transformation into its present form, focusing on smaller markets that larger airlines did not serve with mainline aircraft. Gallagher remains Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Allegiant.

In March 2002, Allegiant successfully exited bankruptcy and entered into a long-term contract with Harrah’s to provide charter services to its casinos in Laughlin, Nevada and Reno, Nevada. At the same time, the airline acquired its first MD-80 aircraft. From 2002 through 2004, the scheduled service business model was developed and, by 2004, Allegiant was flying from 13 small cities to Las Vegas offering bundled air and hotel packages.

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 13 cities already served by Allegiant and one new city to the Phoenix metropolitan area. The airline began service out of Mesa on October 25, 2007. The airport announced a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) expansion in August 2008 which increased the number of gates from two to four and allowed Allegiant to triple the number of flights from Phoenix. The expansion was funded by a loan from Allegiant which will be repaid by passenger fees.

In August 2007, Allegiant announced plans to open its fifth focus city and make an operations base at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, connecting cities already served by Allegiant to the South Florida area. The airline began service to Fort Lauderdale on November 14, 2007.

In January 2008, Allegiant opened its sixth base at Washington's Bellingham International Airport. The airline bases 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. Allegiant’s unique strategy has allowed the company to remain profitable every quarter since 2003 - 35 consecutive quarters - despite industry challenges that include fluctuating fuel costs and an unstable economy.

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. On August 12, 2011, Allegiant announced it would discontinue the Grand Rapids base on October 31.

In November 2011, Allegiant closed its Long Beach facility and consolidated all Los Angeles area flights to Los Angeles International (LAX).

In March 2010, Allegiant announced the purchase of six used Boeing 757s as part of plans to begin flights to Hawaii, with deliveries from early 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011. They gained the approval for type with the FAA in July 2011, and are working to obtain the appropriate ETOPS rating in order to be able to serve Hawaii.