There are various signs of the oncoming end of the world, be it the United Kingdom voting to leave the EU, a property mogul with a large mouth running for the US Presidency, or David Bowie passing away.
Another sign is Allegiant Air is buying brand new aircraft – not second hand frames. Yes – I repeat – the low-cost carrier is turning to Airbus directly to buy new aircraft.
Allegiant will be obtaining 12 Airbus A320ceo (current engine option) fitted with CFM56 engines.
Allegiant Air Airbus A320 – Rendering, Airbus
Allegiant in the past have obtained their aircraft from various second user sources – be it SAS for MD-80s, EasyJet and Cebu Pacific for Airbus A319 or Iberia for Airbus A320 aircraft.
This will be the first time Allegiant Air has ordered directly from any airline as they transition to an all-Airbus aircraft fleet.
Currently, the operate a mixture of Airbus narrow-body aircraft, Boeing 757-200s and McDonnell Douglas MD83 and MD-88s. The Boeing 757s are due to leave in 2017, with the MD-83/88s to be withdrawn in 2020.
With the Leisure/Low Cost Carrier market tough as it is, standardising your fleet is one way of saving cash. With Allegiant going for new jets, hopefully the costs of operating compared to running their old fleet make economic sense.
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