Allegiant and VivaAerobus urge US DOT to resume review of proposed alliance

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air and Mexico’s VivaAerobus have asked the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to resume reviewing a proposed alliance between the two ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCC). The DOT halted that review last year, citing possible violations by Mexico of the US-Mexico air transport agreement. In a joint filing with the DOT on 23 February, the airlines said approval delays are preventing “the addition of innovative ULCC entry into markets dominated by” mainline carriers American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Travellers are losing out on new routes and lower fares that Allegiant and Viva plan to add as part of their alliance, they add. “Facilitating the launch of this first-of-a-kind joint venture between two ultra-low-cost carriers would immediately make travel to many destinations in Mexico far more affordable and efficient, thereby benefiting millions of Americans,” the pair write in their filing. “Continued delay in this docket prevents innovative entry in a market dominated by legacy carriers American, United and Delta-Aeromexico, benefits those carriers alone, withholds from US consumers the new routes and lower fares the Allegiant-Viva alliance will offer, and thwarts the Open Skies and competition policies of the United States.” Allegiant and Viva pitched their proposed alliance in December 2021. Mexican authorities approved it in October 2022. But last July the DOT said it suspended its review on grounds that capacity restrictions at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International airport may have violated the US-Mexico air transport agreement. Mexican authorities had been attempting to force passenger airlines to move flights to the newer but more-distant Felipe Angeles International airport, which also serves the Mexico City region, by capping aircraft movements and banning cargo carriers from operating at the older airport.<br/>