Allegiant Air is a low-cost airline that specializes in direct city to city travel, with 10 northern destinations with flights to and from Jacksonville. The airline also works with travel agents to create package deals to destinations like Las Vegas and Orlando.
Allegiant is unlike larger airlines, which work on a "hub" model where the airline operates out of airports flying to many destinations. Allegiant offers flights from one city to another, and only in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Recently Allegiant has made headlines for a myriad of delays and safety concerns:
Jacksonville is no stranger to Allegiant's issues. In June of 2016, a Jacksonville flight to Pittsburgh was delayed more than 18 hours. In October, an Allegiant aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Jacksonville International Airport.
Allegiant Airlines was founded in 1997. Maurice Gallagher, its CEO since 2003, is no stranger to low budget airlines.
Gallagher was the CEO of Valujet, a low cost airline with a similar point to point travel business model. The airline became synonymous with a tragic crash that killed 110 people in 1996 in the Florida Everglades, not long after takeoff from Miami.
Just one year later, Valujet bought out Airtran, a smaller low-cost airline. Valujet took the Airtran name and operated under it until Southwest Airlines purchased Airtran in 2011.
