Allegiant Air Retires MD-80 Aircraft


FLEET ANALYSIS: Allegiant Air Retires MD-80 Aircraft
December 2, 2018
By: Michael Gutta

Allegiant Air flew their last commercial flight with an MD-80 series aircraft on Wednesday November 28, 2018 with a final flight from Fresno to Las Vegas as a huge step in the simplification and modernization plan laid out by company executives. With the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 retirement Wednesday and the company’s retirement of the Boeing 757 in October of 2017, the airline is down to a single type with the Airbus 319 & 320 combination. Operating a single fleet type of much newer aircraft will reduce maintenance costs, unexpected delays and cancellations, and fuel consumption for the airline. In this feature, the fleet of Allegiant Air over the last 10 years will be examined as different aircraft have been added and removed from the roster. Please follow along with the two charts provided to illustrate the fleet’s progress.

Allegiant Air N865GA at St. Pete-Clearwater International on February 9, 2017 (Michael Gutta).

This review begins with the fleet status as of January 2009 when Allegiant had 37 MD-80 series aircraft at an average age of 18.7 years old. These aircraft had been purchased from a variety of carriers including SAS (11), Korean Air (5), Midway Airlines (5), and Aeromexico (4). By August 2010 the fleet had grown to include 62 MD-80 series aircraft and saw the introduction of Allegiant’s first B757-200 aircraft purchased from Brittania Airways for operations to Hawaii. In late fall 2010 the roster of MD-80 aircraft peaked at 64 aircraft before retirements reduced their number.


The next large step in Allegiant’s fleet transformation occurred in November 2012 when the Boeing 757 fleet was completed by adding the 6th and final airframe from Brittania and the first Airbus aircraft was added, an A319. At this point in time the Allegiant fleet totaled 67 aircraft: 60 MD-80, 6 B757-200, and 1 A319. The average age for each fleet type was 22.9 years for the MD-80’s, 19.7 years for the B757’s, and 8.1 years for the single A319 purchased from EasyJet. It is also notable that during this month prior to the A319 arrival, the average age of the Allegiant fleet reached an all-time high of 22.5 years for the 10-year period being evaluated.

 Just a few months later in June 2013 Allegiant welcomed the first Airbus A320 aircraft, purchased from Iberia. By this point the Allegiant fleet renewal plan was in full motion, having accrued 3 A319 aircraft and having reduced the MD-80 fleet to 54. By the end of 2013 Allegiant had added 6 more A320 aircraft from Iberia for a total of 7, plus the 3 A319.
            
The fleet was largely unchanged for all of 2014 until January 2015 when a steady and rapid flow of Airbus aircraft began to arrive. Several used aircraft deliveries occurred during 2015, and at the start of 2016 the fleet stood at: 49 MD-80, 5 B757-200, 11 A319 and 16 A320. At this point in time the average age of the fleet stood at 21.6 years of age, still quite high despite adding many used aircraft. The 2016 year saw no changes in the A320 fleet, while 7 A319 were added. An additional 3 MD-80 and 1 B757 were retired.


The summer travel seasons of 2015 and 2016 were made (in)famous for Allegiant due to a series of maintenance issues that delayed and cancelled flights. These issues were highlighted by the Tampa Bay Times in a lengthy November 2016 report and 60 Minutes with an April 2018 segment. As reports of these flights became public and also as part of negotiations with the pilots’ union on a new agreement, Allegiant announced in July 2016 that for the first time ever they would purchase brand-new aircraft, 12 A320 aircraft from Airbus. This development was a critical turning point for the airline and through 2017 and 2018 the fleet renewal hit full-stride.

To start 2017, Allegiant had 18 A319, 16 A320, 46 MD-80, and 4 B757-200. The average fleet age was 21.4 years old. Over the course of 2017 the A319 fleet expanded to 23 by adding 5 used airframes. The A320 fleet expanded to 31 by adding 15 airframes including the first all-new aircraft from Airbus in May 2017. The Boeing 757-200 fleet was retired in October 2017. Finally, the MD-80 fleet was reduced by a further 10, down to 36 aircraft. The end result of all this shuffling was that the average aircraft age in the fleet finally dipped a significant amount to 18.4 years. This was highlighted by an average age of 12.4 for the A319 fleet and 11.9 for the A320 fleet. The 36 MD-80 aircraft had an average age of 27.7 years old.

2018 has proven to be another transformative year for the airline, capped off last Wednesday by the retirement of the remaining MD-80 aircraft in the fleet. With still a month remaining in the year, the airline has added 12 A319 and 13 A320 aircraft. Before last Wednesday’s mass retirement of MD-80’s, Allegiant had 18 of these aircraft in the fleet. Following their retirement, the average age of an Allegiant aircraft is now 12.7 years. The oldest aircraft is 21 years old and the youngest is only a few months old, fresh from the factory of Airbus.

The retirement of the MD-80 series of aircraft from Allegiant should yield improved reliability and fuel efficiency. For passengers that means less delayed, cancelled, or re-routed flights and hopefully lower fares. Modern aircraft also emit less pollution and are significantly quieter for those aboard and on the ground. For those that are nostalgic about the “Mad Dog” aircraft, they may still snag a flight with one on Delta or American for a few years, but even these will ultimately be retired as well, bringing an era of aviation to an end.

Please check out the following links for more details on news stories referenced above, or for the sources of fleet details used to calculate the timeline and values above:


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