Most of us didn't know that Allegiant Air was going to switch to Boeing.
Allegiant is close to ordering a plane.
Allegiant Air is expected to order 50 Boeing MAX aircraft, worth $5 billion at list prices. I would assume that this will happen unless something major changes, since these kinds of reports tend to be accurate. It seems like these new planes will be used for growth, rather than just for replacing existing aircraft, though it will likely be a bit of both.
There are a couple of things that make this development significant.
Allegiant has an all-Airbus fleet of 122 A320s and A319s.
13 of the 122 planes purchased by Allegiant were purchased directly from the manufacturer.
Boeing recently lost two customers to Airbus, and this aircraft manufacturer "flip" is noteworthy.
It is great for Boeing that they were able to get the business of an customer. I don't think it's great for passengers since the A320 is a better plane than the 737 from a passenger comfort standpoint.
Allegiant has an all-Airbus fleet.
Allegiant must have gotten a great deal.
Allegiant Air got the deal of the century on these planes. You have to consider that Allegiant is an incredibly frugal ultra low cost carrier.
Allegiant could have picked up used aircraft at a lower cost than it did with the new Boeing MAXs.
There are significant costs associated with going from an all A319/A320 fleet to a Boeing 738.
Allegiant takes an unconventional approach to aircraft scheduling, which is why the operational complexity of this is so high. Allegiant operates point-to-point flights from roughly two dozen crew bases. Scheduling these planes and retraining pilots will be more complex than at a legacy airline.
Will Allegiant simply switch from Boeing to Airbus, or will some bases have both aircraft types? Allegiant has received an incredible deal on these planes.
The bottom line.
Allegiant Air is about to place an order for 50 Boeing MAX aircraft. This is significant because the airline used to operate a fleet of secondhand A320-family aircraft.
I am looking forward to learning more about the delivery schedule and how it fits into Allegiant.
What do you think about Allegiant Air ordering Boeing planes?
