Allegiant Air plans 22 new flights and fleet expansion

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air will expand its route system by nearly 9 percent with the addition of 22 new round-trip flights in May and June, the company announced Tuesday.

Two of the new routes will include flights to and from McCarran International Airport.

The airline also announced its acquisition of two used Airbus A320 twin-engine jets from Philippine Airlines on Tuesday.

Beginning May 22, Allegiant will fly between Las Vegas and Memphis, Tenn., and starting June 4, the company will add flights between Las Vegas and Brownsville, Texas. Both are scheduled as year-round routes.

Most of Allegiant’s other routes include cities that are a part of the airline’s lineup of resort- and focus-city destinations. Only one new destination — Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport in Georgia — has been added. Some of the added flights are seasonal.

Allegiant’s Las Vegas-Memphis flights will operate Mondays and Fridays with 2:35 p.m., departures from McCarran and 9:15 p.m., departures from Memphis.

The Brownsville flights will be operated Sundays and Thursdays with an 11:55 a.m., departure from Las Vegas and a 4:10 p.m., return flight from Brownsville.

The company is introducing the routes with $85 one-way trips to Brownsville and $80 one-way tickets to Memphis. Under Allegiant’s business model, the airline offers a low base fare, but charges extra fees for a number of services, including seat selection, baggage fees, carry-on bag fees and food.

The Memphis and Brownsville routes have no competition from Las Vegas because of Delta Air Lines’ pullout from the Memphis market. Allegiant often taps routes that have no competition.

Allegiant has a fleet of twin-engine MD-80, Boeing 757 and Airbus A320-series jets. The airline announced Monday that it plans to acquire six used Airbus A319 jets and have them in service by the end of 2017. On Tuesday, the company said it would buy two 177-passenger A320 jets and add them to the fleet by the end of this year.

Terms weren’t announced on either acquisition. Allegiant will get two of the 156-passenger A319s later this year and four in 2016. Cebu Air Pacific is the seller.

Shares of Allegiant Travel, the airline’s parent company, gained $2.31, or 1.24 percent, to close at $188.59 on Tuesday amid a broad market rally.

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta