US’s Allegiant Air to add ten second-hand A320-200s

Allegiant Air (G4, Las Vegas McCarran) has signed a commitment with Air Lease Corporation to add ten second-hand A320-200s between autumn 2021 and summer 2022.

“As young, sharklet-equipped sister ships, they will not only afford efficient induction into our all-Airbus fleet, but will also provide years of utilisation beyond the typical life of previously operated aircraft. This transaction will be a valuable component of our fleet plan for 2022 and beyond,” Senior Vice President (Corporate Finance) and Treasurer, Robert Neal, said.

The parties did not disclose the identity of the aircraft, beyond saying that the A320s are “young”. Niether responded to ch-aviation’s request for further details.

Allegiant Air currently operates thirty-five A319-100s and seventy-nine A320-200s, with one more A320 due for delivery shortly. The ULCC owns the bulk of its aircraft, leasing just four A319s and seventeen A320s. Air Lease Corporation does not currently lease any aircraft to Allegiant, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows.

The Las Vegas-based low-cost carrier, which focuses on leisure-heavy routes, relies heavily on second-hand, mid-life aircraft for growth. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that out of its entire fleet of 114 aircraft, just thirteen A320s are new-builds with the remaining 101 opportunistically added by the carrier from the second-hand market. In May 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic forced Allegiant to downsize its network and fleet, the carrier said it believed that the crisis would increase the supply of young used narrowbodies at low prices. Already then, it has signalled plans to snap up some to help fuel its post-pandemic recovery.

Air Lease Corporation’s portfolio of A320-200s comprises 36 owned and 67 managed aircraft.