Allegiant experiences ‘busiest and best Spring ever’

Allegiant Travel Company, the parent of Allegiant Air, expects “substantial opportunities” to propel its earnings during 2022 as it experienced the “busiest and best Spring ever”. The Las Vegas-based low-cost carrier says that the first three months of the year were a turning point for the company as it recovers from the two-year pandemic. Revenue topped $500m during Q1 2022, up from $279m in the same period in 2021, and even higher than the $452 million Allegiant posted in the first quarter of pre-pandemic 2019. “The first quarter marked a sizable shift in the demand environment,” says Maurice Gallagher, the company’s CE. It is Gallagher’s 61st and final time presiding over the company results, as he steps down from the post, which he’s held since 2003, in June. His successor is company president John Redmond. While revenue rose, costs also climbed, leaving the company with a $7.9m loss for the quarter, from a $6.9m profit last year. The airline says it was forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights – or 12% of its schedule - in late December and early January, as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 tore through the company’s ranks. But the company says it was able to stabilize the operation by March, when more travellers returned as well for spring break travel.<br/>