Allegiant Air passenger tally up 9.5 percent in September

Allegiant Travel Co. continued to grow at a brisker pace than much of the airline industry, but it did not attract enough passengers in September to fill all extra seats of an expanded schedule.

The company's Allegiant Air unit boosted its passenger count 9.5 percent from the same month last year, to 436,000, including charter and scheduled flights. The number of miles each seat flew with a paying customer in it grew 15.9 percent, as the average trip length increased along with the passenger count.

However, the number of available seat-miles went up 18.2 percent. As a result, the occupancy rate, known as load factor, dropped to 82.8 percent from 86 percent a year ago.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.