FATFlyer From United States of America, joined May 2001, 5667 posts, RR: 17 Reply 4, posted (2 months 1 week 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 7483 times:
They expect 2 A319s in service by June.
Last I heard the first A320 will also be in service in the next few months.
The first A320 (supposedly registered as N216NV) in Allegiant colors has already been painted in Europe, a few pics are floating around the web. Should show up soon if it hasn't already arrived in the US.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." - Mark Twain
treebeard787 From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 503 posts, RR: 1 Reply 6, posted (2 months 1 week 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 7247 times:
N301NV is already in service doing mostly AZA-FAR flights, it's also done AZA-DLH. N302NV should enter service relatively soon as well.
atcsundevil From United States of America, joined Mar 2010, 666 posts, RR: 1 Reply 9, posted (2 months 1 week 5 days 17 hours ago) and read 5328 times:
I've seen it arrive and parked on the ramp daily in the afternoon at IWA for maybe three weeks now. It started around the same time as the HNL flight. It was weird to go from one type one day to three the next.
FWAERJ From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 3172 posts, RR: 1 Reply 10, posted (2 months 1 week 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 3706 times:
It's been said that SFB will be the next G4 A32x base after AZA. What's the timeframe for that, and what routes will be first from SFB? And does G4 plan on basing some Airbuses in LAS or PIE after SFB?
That said, it will be nice to see FWA finally get a scheduled non-cargo Airbus... the last time FWA saw mainline legacy service, not a single Airbus was used. Mainline at FWA was mostly Boeing (DL) and Douglas (NW) products, with a surprising amount of Fokkers as well: F100s on AA to ORD alongside Eagle ATRs and on US to PIT. FWA does see UA and DL A32x weather diversions from ORD and DTW, and both FedEx and UPS send the A300 here instead of the normal 757s and 727s during the holiday shipping rush. Whether G4 will go Airbus on an existing (SFB, PIE, PGD, MYR) or resumed (LAS, FLL, AZA) route, or if FWA will be one of F9's next DEN destinations on an A319 a la SBN two hours up the road, remains to be seen.
Aside from the 757, the A320 family is my favorite airplane family, and I would love to see a G4 A319 or A320 at FWA. Comfortable, smooth, and efficient. Though G4's 28" seat pitch on the A319 and 29" on the A320 might pose a challenge to my very long legs, G4 does use super-slimline non-reclining seats. These should make it as comfortable as the MD-80 for a flight from FWA to Florida or MYR.
iowaman From United States of America, joined May 2004, 4089 posts, RR: 7 Reply 11, posted (2 months 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 3049 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW FORUM MODERATOR
For all you Allegiant fans here is an article that is a very nice read:
The company, which is based in Las Vegas, parked a freshly painted Airbus A319 twin-engine jet at McCarran International Airport’s D gates to give employees and airport executives a first look at the 156-seat plane. The next day, it went into service, running routes between Mesa, Ariz., Duluth, Minn., and Fargo, N.D.
The plane is the first of 18 Airbus jets the company will acquire. Seven 177-seat Airbus A320 jets will be delivered by fall, and two more A319s will be painted with Allegiant colors by the end of the year.
...
The Airbus jets can fly greater distances than Allegiant’s current fleet of MD-80 jets and can be used at airports with shorter runways. That means Allegiant can expand its destination list.
...
The company will retire four twin-engine MD-80s by July and dedicate one plane exclusively to charter flights to and from Wendover on the Nevada-Utah border.
...
The seats in the Airbus jets will be slightly more comfortable for passengers because they are about an inch wider.
I did not realize 4 MD-80's would be on their way out so soon. The A319/A320 offers a significant fuel savings over the MD-80 and will probably allow longer routes to be launched. I suspect these Airbus aircraft may also have a higher dispatch reliability as well.
It's also nice to see the Wendover casino contract operation still going considering the IFP operation has been handed over to Republic.
FWAERJ From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 3172 posts, RR: 1 Reply 12, posted (2 months 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 2441 times:
Quoting iowaman (Reply 12): The A319/A320 offers a significant fuel savings over the MD-80 and will probably allow longer routes to be launched.
Right now, the longest MD-80 routes from LAS are GRR and SBN. As always, I could see FWA-LAS resumed with the far superior economics of the A32x, though I could also see LAS and/or AZA added/resumed from similar cities like ABE, GSO, LCK, TOL, and YNG.
ouboy79 From United States of America, joined Nov 2001, 3996 posts, RR: 23 Reply 14, posted (2 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 2226 times:
Quoting FWAERJ (Reply 13): Right now, the longest MD-80 routes from LAS are GRR and SBN. As always, I could see FWA-LAS resumed with the far superior economics of the A32x, though I could also see LAS and/or AZA added/resumed from similar cities like ABE, GSO, LCK, TOL, and YNG.
Not sure they'll dump much more into LAS right now. They have pulled back some, so they might look at some other destinations to put them on. Though can't rule out those past markets from LAS that did very well before fuel prices spiked and made the MD-80s too expensive.
Any opinion/comment posted is that of my own and not that of Southwest Airlines Co.
SYfan100 From United States of America, joined exactly 5 years ago today! , 587 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (2 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 2217 times:
That would work, too, as G4 wanted to do GYY-LAS for their first GYY route instead of GYY-SFB, but two things stopped them:
1) The railroad tracks near the main GYY runway
2) A loaded MD-80 could cause them to overshoot the tracks
The A32x has far better short-field long route performance than the MD-80, so they could start the route now. And even then, the railroad tracks near GYY are in the process of being moved for a runway extension and for better safety, so that will be a moot point very soon.
FWAERJ From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 3172 posts, RR: 1 Reply 17, posted (2 months 2 days 1 hour ago) and read 1723 times:
We all knew that AZA was the first base for G4's Airbuses, but it looks like PGD (and not SFB as originally thought) is base #2 for the G4 Airbus fleet. Makes sense, given PGD's shorter runway and G4's recent growth there.
And I have a trip report that gives credence to the matter. I was talking with a local government official here about FWA, as he was speaking to a group that I'm part of. He mentioned that he flew on G4 from FWA-PGD and back very recently (always nice to see local officials supporting local airports). The way there was an MD-80, but the way back was an A319. He noticed a difference on the flight back as soon as he boarded the airstairs at PGD, where he saw the engines under the wings and no T-tail, 3x3 seats, and a safety card that said "A319" and not "MD-80". He liked the Airbus better than the Mad Dog, especially in the comfort department: even with 28" seat pitch, the 1" wider seat and slimline seating made a big difference for him.
Overall, he thought that the Airbus was a positive step forward for both G4 and FWA.
On a side note, as Eagle is G4's ground handler at FWA, I guess they are prepared for not only more G4 Airbuses, but also both AA's forthcoming A319s (should AA mainline return) and soon-to-be-all-A32x F9 (should they decide to add FWA to their route map).
YNGguins From United States of America, joined Jun 2007, 473 posts, RR: 1 Reply 20, posted (2 months 2 days ago) and read 1646 times:
I wouldn't read too much into it. The flights thru late October are scheduled to be on 166 seat MD-80s. Regarding LAS to midwestern cities, watch how Plattsburgh performs. If it continues or grows, I would expect growth into Vegas from certain midwestern markets. If it struggles to make a profit, knowing Allegiant, it won't happen. Expect further growth into LAS, AZA, SFB, PIE, and PGD.
I am PROUD to live in the greatest country on earth: The United States of America!
ouboy79 From United States of America, joined Nov 2001, 3996 posts, RR: 23 Reply 23, posted (2 months 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 1389 times:
Quoting FWAERJ (Reply 21): Maybe it was a test flight, as G4 has been doing a few scheduled Airbus test flights as of late.
I have heard in the past that there was some sort of plan to get the Airbus into PGD to take over the longer flights due to the runway length. PBG, IAG, TOL, and RFD are the cities specifically mentioned when asked. We'll see thought.
Any opinion/comment posted is that of my own and not that of Southwest Airlines Co.
FATFlyer From United States of America, joined May 2001, 5667 posts, RR: 17 Reply 24, posted (2 months 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 1303 times:
Quoting bobloblaw (Reply 22): They are paying cash for the 319s and 320s right?
In the announcements Allegiant said they were choosing to lease these A319s and finance the A320s with debt instead of cash purchases.
That is similar to the ramp up of the MD fleet. Initially most of the MD transactions were financed/leased as the fleet grew. Later as prices dropped G4 bought the aircraft it was operating for cash.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." - Mark Twain
FWAERJ From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 3172 posts, RR: 1 Reply 25, posted (2 months 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 1329 times:
Quoting ouboy79 (Reply 23): I have heard in the past that there was some sort of plan to get the Airbus into PGD to take over the longer flights due to the runway length. PBG, IAG, TOL, and RFD are the cities specifically mentioned when asked.
That might explain a lot as to why the FWA-PGD flight of the official that I talked to was on an Airbus. Here's the stage lengths of G4's eleven current PGD routes (three more than what Direct Air had at their peak, I do have to add) for those interested:
PBG-PGD 1311 mi (longest of the G4 PGD routes)
IAG-PGD 1129 mi
RFD-PGD 1127 mi
SBN-PGD 1049 mi
PIA-PGD 1045 mi
TOL-PGD 1016 mi
SPI-PGD 994 mi
FWA-PGD 986 mi
LEX-PGD 781 mi
TYS-PGD 624 mi
GSP-PGD 550 mi
In addition to the aforementioned cities and FWA, I think that SBN, SPI, and PIA would also be good Airbus routes from PGD. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see anything over 900 miles from PGD served on an Airbus in the future, leaving the MD-80 based there to open up new, shorter PGD routes and for use on GSP/TYS/LEX.
TrijetsRMissed From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 2099 posts, RR: 6 Reply 28, posted (1 month 4 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 735 times:
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