Summary
- Allegiant Air has once again delayed its first Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 flights.
- Now, the first flights with the type are scheduled in October 2024.
- Data has showed that four Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 aircraft destined for Allegiant Air had their first flights throughout the past six months.
Allegiant Air has continued delaying the entry into service (EIS) of its Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 aircraft, with schedules showing that the type would begin flying commercially for the airline starting October 2024. When the carrier initially ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAXs (50 firm, 50 options) in January 2022, it said that its first aircraft of the type would arrive in 2023.
First Boeing 737 MAX flights in October
However, since then, in addition to growing its 737 MAX backlog to 130 aircraft, Allegiant Air had to delay the EIS date of its first aircraft of the type. Now, data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that the airline’s first flights with the 737 MAX should happen in October 2024, with the carrier expanding its weekly flights with the type quite rapidly. The development was first reported by AeroRoutes on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Photo: Allegiant Air
Nevertheless, Allegiant Air is planning to operate 40 weekly itineraries with the type in October, expanding to 52 weekly departures in November and to 116 in December. The airline’s schedule data, available up to January 2025, showed that during the first month of the following year, it has scheduled 252 weekly departures with the 737 MAX.
In October, 17 cities should see a Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 with Allegiant Air’s livery, with the most departures – 19 weekly flights – being scheduled out of Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), Florida, the United States.
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Another 737 MAX delay
According to the statement Allegiant Air issued in January 2022, the company had purchased 100 Boeing 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 8-200 aircraft, split between 50 firm orders and 50 options, it said that an initial group of aircraft would arrive in 2023, with the remaining deliveries scheduled for 2024 and 2025.
Photo: Boeing
However, the airline had to delay the EIS of the aircraft several times. During the company’s Q3 2023 earnings call in November 2023, Maurice Gallagher Jr., the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), stated that the airline had readied itself for the delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in early 2024.
“This aircraft will strengthen our flexibility by providing more diversity in fleet composition further enabling us to deploy the right gauge aircraft in the right markets at the right times.”
In March, Greg Anderson, the president of Allegiant, disclosed that instead of receiving 24 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2024, the airline would receive 12, adding that it expected the first delivery to occur in the coming months.
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Actively flying
Ch-aviation data showed that four Allegiant Air Boeing 737 MAX 8-200s have registrations assigned to them: N810MG, N811NV, N812NV, and N813NV. The four CFM International LEAP-1B had their first flights throughout 2024.
Photo: Allegiant Air
For example, N810MG operated its first flight on January 14, while N811NV first flew on June 10. The two remaining 737 MAX 8-200s that have a registration flew on May 1 and May 31, respectively. Out of the four, three are now stored at Victorville Southern California Logistics Airport (VCV), while one has been sent to King County International Airport or Boeing Field (BFI).
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