Allegiant Air selects A319

Allegiant Air, an Ultra-Low Cost Carrier in the US, announced that it will lease Airbus A319s from GECAS and purchase more from The Philippines’ Cebu Air.

Update: Here is the Allegiant presentation. This confirms Allegiant is getting the four-exit, 156-passenger airplane.

Notably, Allegiant had this to say:

“The A319 is a new aircraft type for Allegiant, but we otherwise see this as a continuation of our existing business model,” said Andrew C. Levy, Allegiant President. “A319 asset values have significantly declined and now mirror the environment we saw when we first began buying MD-80s.”

Airbus issued this statement:

“A new operator is always great news, but it’s a grand endorsement of the Airbus product line when that operator is a growing low-cost carrier in one of the strongest markets in the world,” said Barry Eccleston, Airbus Americas President and Chief Executive Officer. “Allegiant is hyper conscious of both cost and comfort, and the fact they are turning to the A320 Family proves we have the aircraft the airline knows it needs to fly them successfully into the future.”

Our take:

Allegiant has been operating the MD-80 with 150 seats and is increasing capacity to 160 (or 162). The A319 with wall-to-wall seating is around 150 and somewhat more if a second overwing exit were installed (as with easyJet).

Values of A319s have, as Allegiant noted, been falling in the last few years (so have those for Boeing 737-700s, though not quite as much). Lease rates, according to one lessor, hovers in the $100,000-$120,000 range for older A319s and 737-700s and even less for the oldest ones.

3 Comments on “Allegiant Air selects A319

  1. This has always been thier business model, get the cheapest airplanes possible to buy or lease, then cram them full of seats.

  2. BA put 156 seats on their A320 1-class configuration (UK domestic).

    http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/British_Airways/British_Airways_Airbus_A320-200.php

    Airfrance has 140 seats on their A319’s

    http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_France/Air_France_Airbus_A319_Metropole.php

    Easyjet put 156 on their A319’s

    http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/easyJet_Airlines/easyJet_Airlines_Airbus_A319.php

    Finally, Spirit only put 145 on their A319’s.

    http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Spirit_Airlines/Spirit_Airlines_Airbus_A319_B.php

    Puting 150+ seats on an A319 will be quite economical for Allegiant if they can fill ’em.

    ‘Watch them knees”…:-D

  3. Pingback: 100-149 seat market isn’t ‘Bermuda Triangle’ for the right airplanes « Leeham News and Comment

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