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| N217NV A320 Allegiant Air Courtesy: Paul Doyle |
Allegiant President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Levy during Q3 conference call made reference to company’s Airbus A320 in Dublin adding “One A320 was left stranded in Ireland because it did not have the airworthiness certificate necessary to operate in the U.S.”
“As you know, that’s a pretty simple thing,” Levy said. “But it’s not so simple when the FAA is not working.”
Two days later on Friday 25th October N218NV Airbus A320-214 construction number 1229 ex EI-FCC Allegiant Air was ferried Dublin-Bangor-Amarillo International Airport 25-26th October, in all white colours for painting, according to Dutch website Skyliner aviation.
According to FAA’s registry, N218NV was officially registered 18th October to Sunrise Asset Management LCC Las Vegas, Nevada. Sunrise Asset Management is an affiliate of Allegiant Air.
Allegiant Air’s seven Airbus A320s formerly operated by Iberia Airlines were prepared for delivery at Dublin Airport. N215NV ex EC-HUJ, N216NV ex EC-HUK, N217NV ex EC-HUL, N218NV ex EI-FCC, N219NV ex EC-HSF, N220NV ex EC-HYC, N221NV ex EC-HYD.
During a conference call with analysts, Allegiant President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Levy said the near-term outlook was dampened by an undefined amount because the federal government shutdown delayed putting seven Airbus A320 aircraft into service. The planes operate more cheaply than the MD-80 aircraft that form the backbone of Allegiant’s fleet and hold a few more seats.
In the third quarter the company’s capex of $84.5 million , majority of which was driven by the purchase of five Airbus A320 aircraft. The aircraft had been planned to enter service by year end, this has now been pushed into Q4.
