Allegiant Breaks With History by Buying First New Aircraft
- Purchase of 12 Airbus A320ceos is valued at $1.2 billion
- New planes allow faster retirement of oldest part of fleet
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Allegiant Airlines will buy new aircraft for the first time, in a purchase valued at $1.2 billion, as the discount carrier speeds its shift to a fleet of all Airbus Group SE planes by mid-2019.
Buying the 12 A320 jets with currently available engines allows the airline to add planes “opportunistically” as Airbus switches its focus to pricier models with new, more fuel-efficient turbines, Allegiant Chief Executive Officer Maury Gallagher said in a statement Friday. The purchase of new aircraft doesn’t represent a change in the low-cost carrier’s strategy, he said. While the value is based on list prices, discounts are customary in such transactions.