US carrier Allegiant Air to buy 50 Boeing 737 Max jets, sources say

Allegiant Air is close to ordering 50 Boeing 737 Max jets worth $5b at list prices, people familiar with the matter said, as the low-cost US airline eyes a rebound in tourism. The deal for dozens of new jets would stem a series of commercial setbacks for Boeing For Allegiant, it marks a shift from the airline’s previous strategy of picking up second-hand jets at bargain prices, which has helped it accumulate more than 100 jets built by Europe’s Airbus. The airline’s change to Boeing comes after two of the planemaker’s key customers, KLM and Australia’s Qantas, late last year switched to Airbus, heightening competition between the two planemakers. Such “flips” are rare due to the cost of retraining pilots, but reflect fierce competition for new business as the aerospace industry seeks to recover from its worst-ever recession. Boeing, Airbus and Allegiant Air, a unit of Allegiant Travel, all declined to comment. It is the latest sign of accelerated growth among “ultra-low-cost” carriers that combine rock-bottom fares with a menu of optional charges. Carriers like these are expected to emerge in a position of relative strength from the Covid-19 pandemic. “The leisure market is coming back in droves relative to the business market,” said one of the sources familiar with Allegiant’s plans.<br/>