of jets second hand or at steep discounts. While used aircraft are less fuel-efficient than newer planes, Allegiant reported that it purchased and refurbished McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets for as little as $4 million, one-tenth the cost compared to a new Boeing 737. Given the low initial purchase price, Allegiant is able to operate its aircraft at a lower duty cycle (seven flight hours per day on average versus 13 hours per day at JetBlue Airways), which helps keep labor costs lower. Allegiant schedules their crew members so that they typically return to their domicile at the end of the day, avoiding the expense of hotel rooms. The airline also seeks to maintain a low operating cost at airports. For example, Allegiant rents ticket counters on an hourly basis and in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Springfield, Missouri, many duties are handled by airport employees contracted to Allegiant. Allegiant maintains control over pricing by offering flights exclusively through its website, which also sells ancillary products. It has no toll-free phone number and does sell tickets through internet travel agencies. Branding Allegiant Air's livery features a bright sunburst design on the tail, emphasizing the airline's "sun" destinations. A similar livery is used by Jet2.com on aircraft which carry the Jet2holidays livery, the only difference being the airline name on the aircraft. The livery was created for the airline by Tiami Designs, Atlanta, Georgia. Controversy Workers' right to organize Flight attendants at the carrier voted to organize their workgroup under the Transport Workers Union of America in December 2010, citing scheduling concerns among other issues in their work rules, and the airline's pilots elected to vote on whether to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in July 2012. In August 2012, the pilots voted to organize and joined the Teamsters. Allegiant's chairman and CEO, Maurice J. Gallagher Jr., has been critical of the unionization of airline employees, and has stated, "Unionization is one of those things that clogs the arteries and makes you less quick and not as nimble as you need to be on top of your game... In this industry and others that are heavily unionized, you ultimately end up with bankruptcy as the primary driver." Safety concerns over former MD-80 fleet Allegiant Air has been closely monitored by the FAA due to many emergency landings and aborted takeoffs. ABC interviewed a former Allegiant mechanic, who said "Dedicated steps were not being