Allegiant Air sees an interesting opportunity amid the current crisis. The airline is now partnering to look at options getting business travelers to work remotely from a Las Vegas casino.
Allegiant Air is partnering with a Las Vegas casino
Allegiant Air's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, D. Scott Sheldon, stated the following in the airline's second quarter earnings call,
“We’re also addressing trends we’re beginning to see emerge as part of the next normal. For example, we’re working with a top Las Vegas Casino Resort operator to capture opportunities presented in the rise of remote working. As John referenced earlier, the business traveler paying on the corporate card is now giving way to the individual traveler paying their own way to work remote, but away from home.”
With the onset of the current crisis and the closure of businesses and offices, plenty of people started to work remotely. However, Allegiant believes it can tap into that now. Remote work has the luxury of being able to be done almost anywhere– for most people. So, Allegiant is working on flying those people into Las Vegas where they can work remotely when they need to and, in their off time, head over to a casino.
Stay informed: Sign up for our daily aviation news digest.
Why Las Vegas?
Las Vegas is Allegiant's largest base in the western United States. Located in the southern part of Nevada, the city has earned the nickname "Sin City," for its volume of adult-friendly entertainment– including gambling. This makes the city a prime target for leisure travelers.
Allegiant Air has capitalized on that. The carrier operates flights, usually a few times a week, to regional destinations in the United States using Airbus A319s and A320s. Not only does this work to help manage capacity, but it also gives passengers an incentive to spend a few extra days than they had originally planned in Las Vegas and have the convenience of a nonstop flight.
Allegiant's customer base
Allegiant Air caters to leisure travelers as a low-cost airline. The airline offers vacation bundles and flight ticket bundles that add accessory items to a purchase, including hotels, rental cars, and, inflight, seats, bags, and more.
While other major airlines traditionally tap into business travelers and elite loyalty members, Allegiant Air does not seek the same kind of customers. It does, however, have a customer base of leisure travelers that it believes is the way out of the current crisis– which is so far coming true.
The airline believes it is also poised for success because there are no longer many business travelers flying. Instead, leisure travelers, which are price-sensitive, are the ones flying. Allegiant believes that those who fare shop– even the business travelers– will likely give Allegiant a look thanks to its low fare structure. That is something that full-service carriers are not able to provide. However, thus far, fares are down about 41% on average from 2019 for domestic flights.
Would you take advantage of remote work opportunities and travel to Las Vegas on Allegiant? Let us know in the comments!