Allegiant Air
United States · ALLEGIANT · Active
Airline Identity
History
Allegiant Air was founded in January 1997 (initially as WestJet Express before a trademark dispute with the unrelated Canadian carrier led to the Allegiant Air name) as an ultra-low-cost carrier focused on connecting smaller, underserved cities directly to popular leisure destinations. It is operated by the publicly traded Allegiant Travel Company and built its niche around point-to-point leisure routes, high aircraft utilization, and ancillary revenue, retiring its legacy MD-80 fleet by November 2018 in favor of an all-Airbus operation.
Current Operations
Allegiant Air now operates primarily Airbus A320-family aircraft, with Boeing 737 MAX jets on order, serving around 130+ leisure-focused destinations from a network of bases including Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, St. Petersburg-Clearwater/Tampa, and Phoenix-Mesa. It maintains a codeshare/joint-venture partnership with Viva Aerobus for US-Mexico connectivity and is not a member of a major global alliance. In January 2026 Allegiant Travel Company announced an agreement to acquire Sun Country Airlines in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion, expected to close in the second half of 2026 pending regulatory and shareholder approval.
Last verified 2026-09-02· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.