Allegiant Airlines
Allegiant Airlines is one airline that has braved more than the skies, as the runway’s strong airliner. Originally founded in 1997 as the WestJet Express, Allegiant Air has come a long way since then. The name change came about after considering the similarity of operation name with WestJet Airlines of Calgary, Alberta and a trademark contest with South Dakota’s West Jet Air Center located in Rapid City.

Facing all of these problems with the name, WestJet Express decided to finally change its name to Allegiant Airlines. Allegiant Airline has been granted its operating certificate domestic charter service, and also for charter operations to Mexico and Canada. Allegiant Airlines started their scheduled services back in October 1999, flying from Las Vegas to California, where it had its initial hub in Fresno. When WinAir Airlines closed down in Long Beach, California, Allegiant Airlines soon opened a hub replacing WinAir, by setting up a parallel network with WinAir’s former network.

Allegiant Airline tried to stick it out but business was not good, and finally was unable to generate enough revenue to cover costs and expenses. In December 2000 the airline filed for bankruptcy protection. Later on, by mid-2001, Allegiant Airlines managed to get Maurice Gallagher to join onboard. Gallagher had been in the airline business for some time, and he previously worked with ValuJet Airlines and WestAir. With his skills and knowledge, he soon became Allegiant Air’s Chief Executive Officer and President, and under his leadership proceeded to institute transformational changes to make Allegiant Airlines to be what it is today. Gallagher moved Allegiant Airlines’ base to Las Vegas and targeted small markets that large airlines passed over. This decision led to putting Allegiant Airlines on the skyway, flying from the initial two to almost fifty destinations, and even announced its plans of offering its Common Stock publicly.

Allegiant Airlines have set up arrangements with various hotels, car rental companies, and ticket vendors in Las Vegas, Orlando, and Daytona Beach in Florida. Thus, the company is making it easier and more convenient for their customers to plan their trips. Additionally, Allegiant Airlines offers a wide range of in-flight services, like having a variety of Las Vegas and Florida souvenirs available, and filling their snack and beverage with a spectrum of choices, offering for everybody, with snack packs for adults and kids, drinks ranging from Starbucks Iced Coffee to Minute Maid’s Orange Juice to Jack Daniel’s Whiskey.