Summary
- Allegiant Air has seen minimal improvement in passenger numbers compared to last year, with just a 0.2% increase in July 2023.
- The airline's average load factor has improved by 0.7% compared to last year, reaching 91.2% in July.
- Despite modest passenger growth, Allegiant celebrated a profit of $88.5 million in the second quarter of 2023 and remains optimistic about further improvements.
Nevada-based ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air (G4) has released its latest figures for passenger numbers, and according to the data, there hasn't been a massive improvement from last year.
Post-pandemic, the market has been fragile, and while numbers may remain high for some airlines, it appears that not all airlines are made equal.
In July 2022, Allegiant welcomed 1,931,557 passengers onboard its services across the United States; however, a mere improvement of just 2,907 travelers for 2023, seeing this July's result reach 1,934,464 passengers, representing just a 0.2% improvement.
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Load factors are up.
The airline's average load factor is improving on last year, with a 0.7% increase in 2022, reaching 91.2% this July, compared to 90.5% 12 months ago.
As carriers reinvent themselves post-pandemic, many are scaling up operations with force; Allegiant is no exception, adding 399 flights last month, achieving 12,780 services for July. This is compared to 12,381 take-offs for the month last year.
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A positive Q2
While the results above may seem subdued, the carrier celebrated a profit of $88.5 million for the second quarter of this year. Following this tremendous quarter, the budget carrier remains optimistic for further improvements as network expansions are steadily underway through the remainder of this year to ensure its capacities meet the demand.
Operating profits for the second quarter shot up by 411.1% to $133.4 million from last year's second-quarter earnings of $26.1 million, and revenues substantially increased to $683.8 million. Besides a significant 8.6% increase from the $629.8 million recorded in last year's second quarter, this was also the highest quarterly in the carrier's history.
Before the year's end, the airline's first Boeing 737 MAX is also expected to arrive (first of 50). Despite the delayed delivery of this aircraft, Allegiant Air emphasizes that its capacity plans for this year will not be impacted. A second of the new generation Boeing narrowbody is anticipated to be delivered in early 2024.
Top five summer destinations
As Allegiant works through the summer season, the ultra-low-cost carrier noted its top five summer 2023 destinations across the United States. These destinations are Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS), Orlando-Sanford International (SFB), St. Pete-Clearwater-Tampa International (PIE), Punta Gorda International (PGD), and Destin-Fort Walton Beach (VPS).
As reported by Simple Flying last year, Allegiant sees significant growth opportunities across the United States, once noting that there are up to 1,400 unserved routes across the continent, where the ULCC could carve out its niche in the market.
Did you fly Allegiant Air this July? Let us know in the comments!