Allegiant Air reports strong July capacity growth compared to 2019

Allegiant Air continued its strong performance in terms of traffic and capacity growth versus 2019 in July as it prepares for further robust expansion this fall.

In its July traffic report, the US-based ULCC said its scheduled service capacity for the month was up 16.4% over pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Its traffic was up 7.3% versus 2019. However, the carrier’s load factor was down 6.9 points to 81.3% compared to 2019.

The Las Vegas-based carrier focuses on leisure-oriented travel with an emphasis on small, underserved markets. Allegiant plans to launch more than new 20 routes this fall.

The all-Airbus A320 family operator also recently announced plans to open two new US midwest bases in 2022.

As a point of comparison, other US carriers, such as Southwest Airlines, have reported weakening market conditions as the Delta variant of COVID-19 leads to a spike in infections in parts of the country. Full-service US carriers are already planning to slash capacity 12% versus 2019 in September.

Photo credit: Joe Pries

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.