Allegiant Withdraws from Cuba Charter Programs

Allegiant Travel Company said that its Allegiant Air subsidiary has chosen to exit the Cuban family charter programs that it currently flies for five separate charter program sponsors and has therefore recently exercised the 120-day notice periods to cancel the relevant contracts.

“While our Cuba flying has been and continues to be profitable, these programs are exposing the airline and its people to operational complexity inconsistent with our operating philosophy,” said Allegiant Travel Company CEO Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. “Keeping things simple is a key attribute of our business model and since we are not short of profitable opportunities consistent with operational simplicity, we decided the sensible thing was to remain true to our proven operating philosophy and return our people and aircraft to such efforts.”

Allegiant Air has a single aircraft dedicated to its Cuba programs and currently expects to return that aircraft to its scheduled service fleet later this year. Allegiant Air’s charter planning team is working closely with the five Cuba program sponsors affected to ensure a smooth transition for all parties.