Allegiant loses $184m during airline industry’s ‘most challenging year’

Faced with a devastating drop in tourism, the once-consistently profitable Allegiant Travel ended 2020 in the red. Allegiant Air’s parent on Wednesday reported a loss of $184.1m last year, compared with $232.1m in profit in 2019. Revenue plunged 46.2% to $990.1m last year for the airline as the coronavirus pandemic upended daily life, kept people home and away from crowds for fear of getting infected, and sparked huge job losses around the country, especially in casino-heavy Las Vegas, where the economy is fueled by tourism. Las Vegas-based Allegiant, a deep-discount carrier, is known for flying from small, underserved cities to warm-weather vacation spots, usually without competition on its routes. It booked 17 consecutive profitable years before the pandemic hit. Allegiant Chairman and CEO Maurice “Maury” Gallagher said Wednesday that with the end of Q4, “we completed the most challenging year the industry has faced in its history.”<br/>