Allegiant Air (G4, Las Vegas Harry Reid) has fully repaid a USD24.8 million emergency relief loan made available under the US government's Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020. The broader funding package of USD2.3 trillion in Covid-related support provided US passenger airlines with USD25 billion in assistance during the pandemic.
In a statement, Allegiant's CEO John Redmond expressed his thanks to the government for assisting his airline and the wider US airline industry. "This loan helped us save jobs at a time when it wasn't clear how the US would emerge from the pandemic," he said. "We're thrilled that demand has increased so much in recent months that we were able to fulfil our obligation much earlier than we originally anticipated."
In July, Allegiant Airlines carried 1,931,557 passengers, up 10.9% from the 1,740,997 passengers flown in July 2019. Revenue passenger kilometers were also up 15.4% across the same time. When handing down the 2Q22 results in August, Redmond said his focus in the short-term future was on improving margins and implementing major strategic initiatives, including inducting B737 MAX aircraft.
In mid-August, Allegiant closed a private offering and issued USD550 million in secured notes that mature in 2027. The capital was used to pay out a term loan falling due. At the same time, the airline entered into a credit agreement that provides a secured revolving loan facility of up to USD75 million. All up, in mid-August, Allegiant had USD1.4 billion in available liquidity.
