Allegiant's business model of operating aircraft at relatively low duty cycles. At the start of operations in the late 1990s, Allegiant purchased McDonnell Douglas DC-9 jets, which it operated until 2002, when they were replaced by the McDonnell Douglas MD-80. Starting in 2010, Allegiant purchased six Boeing 757-200 aircraft from Thomson Airways for flights to Hawaii. Over the next few years the airline experimented operating service from several of its cities. Ultimately, Allegiant discontinued the service and slowly disposed of the planes rather than incur the expense of performing comprehensive D checks on the aging planes. In 2012, Allegiant announced that it would shift its primary aircraft from the MD-80 to the Airbus A320 family. A total of 35 Airbus A319-100 aircraft in a high-density seating configuration, fitted with four overwing exits, were purchased from easyJet and Cebu Pacific. In 2013, the airline started adding the Airbus A320-200 to its fleet, purchasing used aircraft from Iberia and Philippine Airlines, and leasing other aircraft. Allegiant purchased its first new aircraft, buying 13 A320s direct from Airbus, taking advantage of lower prices for an older model as the aircraft manufacturer prepared to begin production of the Airbus A320neo. These new aircraft would have fuel-efficient sharklets, and would seat 186 passengers, an increase over the 177 seats in the rest of the Allegiant A320 fleet, due to a smaller lavatory. On October 31, 2017, the final 757 was retired from service, and in November 2018, the last MD-80s operated by Allegiant were retired. Allegiant purchased additional new aircraft in January 2022, this time buying 50 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, taking advantage of low prices as other airlines cancelled their orders in the wake of the nearly two year grounding of the type. Historical fleet Incidents and accidents On March 29, 2007, Allegiant Air Flight 758, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, experienced a hydraulic failure that prevented the nosegear from deploying on final approach to Orlando Sanford International Airport. The aircraft landed safely with only one minor injury during evacuation among the 157 passengers and crew. The plane suffered substantial damage, but it was repaired and placed back into service. On July 23, 2015, an Allegiant aircraft attempted to fly to Hector International Airport in Fargo, North Dakota, which was at the time within a temporary flight restriction due to a rehearsal by the Blue Angels flight team for an upcoming air show. The pilots