Allegiant Air's Remedy to High Fuel Prices: Buy More Efficient Jets
Skift Take
Good riddance. The MD-80 had its moment in the 1980s and 1990s, but manufacturers are producing much more efficient (and quieter) airplanes now.
Every airline is feeling the pinch of higher fuel prices, but U.S. discount carrier Allegiant Air has a not-so-secret advantage. It is retiring its old jets and adding a bunch of newer, more fuel efficient aircraft at an opportune time.
Allegiant executives said Wednesday on their third-quarter earnings call that they'll retire their last MD-80 on Nov. 28, just after Thanksgiving travel rush. The final flight will mimic Allegiant's first-ever routing a couple of decades ago — Las Vegas to Fresno to Las Vegas.
The aircraft, which have an average age of about 28 years, according to Flight Global, have been the backbone of Allegiant's fleet since the early 2000s, but in recent years, they've become problematic as they're inefficient and less reliable than newer airpl
