Allegiant Air (G4, Las Vegas Harry Reid) currently expects the delivery of its first B737-8-200 in spring, around three months later than the already delayed timeline disclosed in late 2023. The carrier has also cut the type's delivery target for this year by half.
"We are actively discussing with Boeing changes to our B737 MAX delivery schedule for 2024. At the time of our last investor update, we were expecting to take delivery of our first MAX aircraft in the first week of 2024. As of now, we are estimating that deliveries will begin in late March or early April. Our current estimates differ from contractual commitments as we are conservatively planning to take delivery of twelve and place into service ten B737-8-200 aircraft by the end of this year," Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of parent Allegiant Travel Robert Neal said during an earnings call.
In its previous quarterly report, the airline said it expected to add twenty-four B737-8-200s in 2024. It has fifty such aircraft on a firm order from the manufacturer, with deliveries now stretching through late 2025.
The ULCC planned its capacity for 2024 conservatively and took into account the uncertainty related to the MAX deliveries. Chief Revenue Officer Greg Wells stressed that Allegiant was not dependent on the availability of B737-8-200s in the second quarter of 2024 and "only slightly so" in the third quarter. The leisure-focused carrier currently expects a 2-6% increase in available seat kilometres flown in 2024 compared to 2023.
Allegiant's B737-8-200s - its first Boeing aircraft in seven years, following the retirement of all B757-200s by 2017 - will be outfitted with 190 passenger seats, including the new premium Allegiant Extra seats. The airline currently has a commitment for twenty-six B737-8-200s and twenty-four B737-7s.
The carrier also operates thirty-four A319-100s and ninety-two A320-200s. It expects to cut the A320 fleet to 86 by the end of the year, while the A319 fleet will remain unchanged.
