Allegiant Air, LLC, airline subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company, announced it will begin flying to Hawaii this year, made possible by the purchase agreement for 6 Boeging 757-200 aircraft.

Allegiant plans to take delivery of these aircraft and place them in service with Allegiant Air on the following schedule:

– Two aircraft delivered within the next two months to be placed into service in the fourth quarter of 2010

– One aircraft delivered in November 2010 and another in January 2011 to be placed into service in the first half of 2011

– Two aircraft delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 with planned in-service dates in the first half of 2012

The six 757 aircraft are sister-ships and have been in service with a single European operator since original delivery from Boeing. The aircraft come equipped for extended twin-engine operations (ETOPS), as required for long overwater flights.

Allegiant expects to spend between US$75 to US$90 million through 2012 acquiring and preparing this fleet for service. While Allegiant is able to acquire and prepare the aircraft for cash, it believes it will finance some portion of the purchase.

Allegiant is acquiring this fleet with the express purpose of serving Hawaii, a major leisure destination that it cannot serve with its existing MD-80 fleet. Allegiant Air expects to launch service to Hawaii once appropriate regulatory requirements have been met.

Allegiant CEO and chairman Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. commented: “Hawaii is the most prominent US leisure destination currently un-served by Allegiant, and our small city customers have been requesting this service. We are very optimistic about our ability to exploit the large third-party ancillary revenue opportunity we believe exists in Hawaii. We expect the sale of hotels, rental cars, and many attraction and activities popular with Hawaii visitors will provide a very meaningful contribution to the success of the service.”

“The 757 is a new aircraft type for Allegiant, but we otherwise see this program as consistent with our existing business model,” Allegiant president and CFO, Andrew C. Levy, stated. “This transaction will enable Allegiant to extend to Hawaii its strategy of serving large leisure destinations from smaller cities with no existing nonstop service.”

Hawaii Tourism Authority Statement

David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management, for the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) made the following statement:

Airlift continues to be one of the top priorities for HTA and Hawaii’s visitor industry. Allegiant Air’s announcement that they will begin services from secondary cities to Hawaii is exciting news for our state. These flights will allow for more convenient direct access to Hawai‘i from the western region of the United States. Currently Allegiant services Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Maria, Fresno, Monterey, Oakland, and Stockton, California; Medford, Eugene, and Bend, Oregon; Bellingham and Pasco, Washington; Mesa, Arizona; and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Over the past two years, HTA has worked with Allegiant and attended their annual conference after they expressed interest in entering the Hawaii market. Christopher Stacey, director of consumer marketing for Allegiant Travel Company, will be presenting more information on Allegiant Air’s plans at HTA’s Spring Marketing Update on March 17, 2009 at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Allegiant’s plan to acquire six Boeing 757-200 for its new routes to Hawaii will be in addition to the 14 new air routes and three existing routes with increased service in 2010.