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Allegiant now offers “giant seats” on its Boeing 757s

Allegiant Air (Las Vegas) has announced the addition of several larger, more comfortable seats, known as “Giant Seats,” to each of its Boeing 757 aircraft. Giving Allegiant travelers a new option when customizing their vacation experience, the company will offer these Giant Seats on flights between Hawaii and several western U.S. cities.

Passengers who purchase a Giant Seat when making their reservations will take advantage of a more spacious, wider seat, comfortable headrests and more leg room.

“By adding these new Giant Seats, Allegiant passengers will enjoy the feeling and comfort of a premium seat, while flying to their destination at an affordable cost,” said Jude Bricker, Allegiant Travel Company, Senior Vice President of Planning. “We think the Giant Seats will be a welcome option for travelers, especially on our long-haul flights to Hawaii.”

Located in the first row and the mid-cabin emergency exit row of the aircraft, each of the six Giant Seats will be made available for a seat assignment fee on all flights to and from Hawaii and select flights to Las Vegas.

Allegiant installed the first of these new seats as part of compliance with changes to FAA crew rest rules, which require minimum seat requirements for augmented crews resting in the passenger cabin. A pair of the new seats was installed to comply with these rules, but the company also saw an opportunity to offer these more comfortable seats to passengers in other parts of the cabin and on flights that do not require augmented crew rest.

The new Giant Seats are part of an overall reconfiguration of the Allegiant 757 cabins, which includes creating a new seating option called “Legroom +.” Increasing the amount of leg room by up to six inches, Legroom + seats provide passengers with up to 34 inches between seat rows.

The installation of the new Giant Seats has been completed on all six of the carrier’s 757 aircraft. The new seat configuration will decrease the total number of seats in Allegiant’s Boeing 757s from 223 to 215.

Top Copyright Photo: Eddie Maloney/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 757-204 N904NV (msn 26967) touches down in Las Vegas.

Allegiant Air:

Allegiant Air’s pilots to meet with investors and analysts about safety concerns

Allegiant Air‘s (Las Vegas) pilots have issued this statement:

Allegiant Air’s pilots, represented by the Allegiant Air Pilots Executive Council, an employee group of Allegiant Travel Company (Las Vegas) and pilots represented by Teamsters Local Union 1224 in Wilmington, Ohio, announced plans to begin formal dialogues with Allegiant stakeholders and other influential voices in the financial community, including institutional shareholders, equity analysts, corporate lenders and insurers, in order to address operating and safety concerns that exist at the airline.

“Allegiant management has turned a deaf ear to serious operational concerns raised by the pilots,” said Capt. David Bourne, Director of Airline Division at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. “We believe Allegiant’s financial backers have a right to know what is going on and be given a chance to weigh in on vital changes needed for Allegiant’s long-term success before it’s too late.”

“Allegiant’s low-cost model works if it can actually support the growth of the business,” Bourne said, “However, management’s lack of operational know-how and flat-out resistance to put badly needed investments into infrastructure is taking a significant toll on flight operations, which could ultimately jeopardize flight safety. It’s obvious to us that the major service disruptions over the last several months, ranging from multiple fleet shutdowns, chronic staffing and equipment shortages, significant ramp-up in 3rd party contracting for scheduled flights and sub-servicing and the shutdown of the company’s training department, all flow from the short-sighted decisions being made at the top.”

“It is very unusual for a company’s training department to be shut down,” said Dan Wells, President of Teamsters Local 1224. “Allegiant has yet to even acknowledge the training shutdown, much less show its pilots a plan for corrective action or indicate if those changes will adequately satisfy Federal Aviation Administration concerns. Many Allegiant pilots have been delayed in training for months, which we believe is driving a major increase in outsourcing due to the shortage of company pilots to fly scheduled flights and re-route equipment back to hubs and maintenance centers.”

“Management has ignored repeated requests for clarity on the training program by both the union and Allegiant’s own pilots,” Bourne said. “We’ve filed a Freedom of Information Act submission with the FAA on the matter, but the agency’s only reply was that there is an ongoing investigation at the company. In the meantime, Allegiant pilots continue to bend over backwards to work with the company to address the very significant issues that are interfering with the ability of Allegiant flight crews to do their jobs properly and service customers effectively. We are hopeful that conversations with investors and other Allegiant stakeholders will lead to a breakthrough on some of the key obstacles affecting the future of the airline.”

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Allegiant Air’s Boeing 757-204 WL N904NV (msn 26967) arrives at the Las Vegas base.

Allegiant Air: