Allegiant Air saw an impressive November 2021. The airline’s passenger count, capacity, and departures beat its November 2019 numbers. A strong indicator for Christmas demand, Allegiant’s November shows that the airline is in a strong position moving forward. Allegiant had already started turning the page from the crisis at the start of the year, and now the airline is firmly looking to move beyond the crisis.
Allegiant’s successful November
In November 2021, Allegiant Air flew 1,187,477 passengers in its scheduled service operations. This was a 7.8% improvement from its November 2019 passenger count. The airline grew its passenger count while also growing its scheduled capacity, measured in available seat miles. Capacity in November 2021 was up 14.7% compared to November 2019 levels.
The airline’s departures were up 9% for the system, with 8,923 scheduled service departures, showing that the airline’s growth in capacity came from a mix of higher aircraft gauge and increased flying, including some new routes.
This worked out to an overall load factor of 77.6% for Allegiant in November 2021. This was a decline from 80.4% flown in the same month in 2019, but that likely comes from a mix of expanded flying from new routes where Allegiant would need some time to build up its presence.
Allegiant comes out of the crisis
It is helpful to look and see how far Allegiant has come since 2020. In November 2020, the airline only flew 682,976 passengers with a system load factor of 57.6%. This, of course, was on far less capacity than what the airline operated in November 2021.
In terms of percentage changes, the airline’s November 2021 scheduled service passenger count was up 73.9% from November 2020 on a 32.8% increase in capacity, measured in available seat miles. Overall departures were up 28.6%.
There were also marginal improvements from October to November. Allegiant’s November passenger numbers were up 2% month-over-month. The airline’s capacity increase from October to November was negligible. Load factor also grew by three points month-over-month.
Thanksgiving sets the stage for Christmas
Thanksgiving was an excellent holiday period for US airlines, and Allegiant also benefited. While raw passenger counts were not too far up in November compared to October, the airline was already starting from a pretty high standard. In October, its passenger counts were up 5.1% from the same month in 2019 on a 19.6% increase in capacity.
Allegiant is now looking ahead to a bigger and better future. The airline has been adding new routes and new bases that will serve as an ongoing catalyst for long-term growth. Allegiant’s leisure customers have also proven to be more resilient than other customer bases, and its completely domestic network shields it against new international travel restrictions that could pop up overnight and bring bookings to a screeching halt. However, some recent moves with Viva Aerobus indicate that Allegiant does not plan to be an all-domestic carrier for much longer.
This holiday season, so far, has shown signs of success. While some airlines do not expect to reach 2019 levels of travelers over the holiday period, it is highly likely that Allegiant will surpass its 2019 numbers in December. The next big question will be how Allegiant’s loads and yields look compared to 2019, which was a successful year for the industry. That data will be clear when Allegiant reports its fourth-quarter results in early 2022.
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