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Allegiant Phases Out Boeing 757s and Exits Hawaii

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air has phased out its final Boeing 757-200s, marking an end to the carrier's Hawaii service. ( Daha Fazlası...

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patrick baker 6
southwest would never consider allegiant a threat, barely a competitor. Cost structure, aircraft reliability, general positive view of the airline- all these and more are the advantages of southwest verses allegiant, and spirit, and frontier, As well as the ability to schedule against a lesser opponent, with frequencies, fare promotions, and deeper pockets. When, not if, southwest orders 787's or 797's, then I can't wait to see the strategy happen to persuade away from NORWEGIAN AIRLINES. Can southwest do in Hawaii what it has done in las vegas, with many departures to everywhere just about in their system?

Yes, they can.

Keep in mind that AAH ran their entire operation from LAS-HNL via SNA and OAK with ETOPS-compliant B737-700s. SWA can definitely do that. SWA can easily do the same from their OAK base. LAX is another issue, but as they already get their international flights into TBIT, they could work on that.

And while AAY is a ULCC, that wasn't the point. The point here is that a competitor in the LCC spectrum of aviation is on the rocks at a certain destination, and that is when SWA usually pounces on the opportunity.

FFT was in trouble at KDEN (as well as UAL at that time), and that was when SWA relaunched service to KDEN.
MEP was on the rocks at KMSP, and that's when SWA started service to KMSP (a place they said they would never serve because of it being a hub for NWA. Both MEP and NWA are gone.

By osmosis (from buying out TRS), SWA started service to ATL - another place they said they'd never serve, being DAL's home.

They didn't want to touch anything in the NYC area, and now they have slots at LGA and EWR, thanks to the UAL/COA merger; especially EWR, which was the COA hub.

Again, the trend over the past 20 years is that when an airline has had some trouble with service, SWA tends to come in.
Thomas Cain 1
Well technically NWA is only gone by name, being adsorbed by Delta. The service is still there.
Mike OConnor 4
And yet they still have MD80s flying around. That break down often. Admittedly, I'm not an aviation expert. But it's interesting to read this.
This would definitely explain the rumours about SWA starting service to Hawaii. normally they wouldn't enter a new market unless it were advantageous for them (read: smelling blood around the success or failure of another carrier, easy turnaround time, etc.) You'd have thought they would have just continued where ATA left off or picked up where AAH failed.. but now with AAY leaving, now is the perfect time for them to start service.
Actually SWA has announced they will be starting Hawaii service in the near future, they just have yet to mention details like which west coast airports will be their gateways, what the destinations will be, or even precisely when service will begin. Might not be so much SWA smelling blood as Allegiant seeing the writing on the wall.
True, but there isn't any pattern or history of AAY dropping service from a destination after SWA announces service to that same destination. It could be here that SWA looked at the non-legacy competition in this market and saw an airline that was struggling, and then decided to move in; this time it happened to be before the competitor announces cuts in service instead of after. SWA moved back into Denver before FFT cut service and went ULCC. SWA moved into MSP shortly after MEP started to go under.

As far as destinations go, the most logical choice right now is LAX. They are already logistically set up for international flights there, in case the arrival has to come into TBIT (however, this is domestic, so it could go either way). However the bigger question isn't where, but HOW they want to do this. They could surround the legacy carriers as well as their biggest competitor on this, HAL: they could follow the AAS route and use SNA, BUR, and OAK, as that's what AAS did, and OAK is their west coast base. This allows them to add more frequent flights with that turnaround that HAL, UAL, or AAL won't be able to get in a B752, B767 or A330. SAN is out of the question, as well as ONT. not enough people for ONT, and SAN is already a bear to get in and out of. SMF would be a smaller market to do this in and may work, but that's direct competing with HAL, which may not work.

The last option is LAS. They can go head to head with HAL there, as no other carrier except HAL has nonstop service to HNL from there. SWA has all that data from ATA to lean on as well, when they ran DC10s and L1011s to HNL to know what they could do, plus has every city on their map flying a nonstop, if not a 1-stop into LAS. The only concern there is taking passengers who go to LAS as their major destination and use that only for a layover to another major vacation destination.

Also, any combination of this will work, so it's back to a "watch this space!" for how they'll do it.
Charles Peele 6
Just keep in the back of y'all's minds the management of tragic Value Jet is the same management of Allegiant.
Dan Chiasson 1
And your point is ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
n9341c 1
I see. So they will for sure once again load unsecured oxygen bottles no doubt, at least if I understand your first grader's logic which you just put on display to the public. Do I have that right?
Charles Peele 1
Unfortunately we who recall vividly Value Jets's sad management practices leading to the Tragic Crash in the FL Everglades will never forget why there is no Value Jet name, today, replaced, instead. by something called Allegiant and continued questionable mechanical upkeep. NUFF Said!!!!!
southwest,if it continues expansion, risks losing its "little engine that could keep fares lower" order to compete in the Hawaiian market,they would have to go above and beyond new 737 aircraft,to larger ones,as the routes from say,los angeles,san Francisco or dallas have abundant service with more seating capacity and at least a few amenities, such as a first class cabin..the "island hop" market,does not seem to be one they would be interested in...
Not necessarily. They still have the service ATA had to rely on, as they ceded that service to SWA with that buyout. And if AAS (Aloha) could operate from Hawaii to the mainland in a B737-700 (which they did from SNA and OAK), SWA could do the same either in a B737, B738, or MAX7 or MAX8 aircraft. They even could do the same from LAX as they have the same range with their current aircraft that they could use to Hawaii as they do from KLAX-MROC.

In short, if they can make LAX to Costa Rica in a B737, they can easily make LAX-HNL with their current fleet. Additionally, with them phasing out the B733s, they will have the room to take those in and increase frequency to HNL from one of their west coast base.
Charles Peele 1
Someone needs to phase out Allegiant's Management!
Charles Peele -1
Who ran Value Jet and after the tragic loss of life in the FL. Everglades, who attempted to continue with the "VJ" title and attitude? Don't asks what my point was until after you check out where Allegiant came from?
I personally know Mitch Allee, who started Allegiant. I worked for his other company at the in the late 90s/early 200s when it started. He had nothing to do with ValuJet, nor anything that happened with VJA592.

You should probably figure out where AAY came from before mouthing off things like this, because it makes you look foolish.
patrick baker 0
same philosophy of acquiring and maintaining older airliners, cutting all corners everywhere, negligible customer service, and abysmal dispatch reliability. Value Jet airlines does not need to exist in any form in any current airline, and yet they do in allegiant. A bad idea, badly executed in reinvention.

