Allegiant Air and Sun Country airlines officially merged into one company in May, but travelers shouldn’t expect major changes this summer.
According to the airlines’ executives, it will take 18 to 24 months for the combined airline to fully fly under one operating certificate, which means the separate brands will remain as such until then.
Still, the larger leisure carrier, which will eventually operate under the Allegiant brand, could mean travel experience changes for both airlines’ customers in the long run. The airlines haven’t yet announced what their new, combined frequent flyer program will look like, however. Answers on that are still to come.
USA TODAY sat down with Allegiant’s Vice President of Network, Planning and Charters Kristen Schilling-Gonzales to hear more about what’s to come as the integration of the two companies continues. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What This Merger Means for Passengers
Question: What does this merger mean for your passengers?
Schilling-Gonzales: It’s the most important question: How do we best serve our customers, both from the legacy Allegiant standpoint and the legacy Sun Country standpoint?
We’re both two profitable companies; we don’t have to change everything right away to save each other. It’s really exciting for us to be able to bring this together.
On the Allegiant side, we have service from about 125 cities around the country, as well as internationally, and Sun Country adds more to those.
Both carriers are already selling each other’s flights on both websites. These are really early components of what this means for customers; it’s just the beginning.
What Changes Should Customers Expect Now
Q: What changes should customers of both airlines expect as the integration continues?
SG: For the next 18 to 24 months or so – until we have a single operating certificate – both carriers are going to be operating their own metal (planes) and their own crews.
On the Sun Country side, we’re trying to incorporate some of the things they do so well. We’re looking at their level of customer service, which is phenomenal.
We’re going to start moving our facilities together in some airports, so you’ll be able to check in at the ticket counters right next to each other.
Finalizing the Integration
Q: What steps are required to finalize the integration?
SG: We’re working jointly together on things like: How do we plan our schedules together going forward starting summer 2027?
After we start flying under a single operating certificate, it will be the Allegiant brand going forward. We’re working on negotiating with working groups on single labor agreements.
Right now, we are still operating as the two separate carriers, so passengers can’t book mixed itineraries on a single ticket. They have to be booked on one carrier or the other.
As we get closer to the single operating certificate, that will be a little smoother. All of this is a little bit more interesting in that we really only have one route that overlaps between the two carriers. There’s not a whole lot of places right now that you would see mixed options.
The Future Fleet
Q: What does the future airline’s fleet look like?
SG: Sun Country operates Boeing 737s exclusively. At Allegiant, we have both the Airbus A320 family as well as the Boeing 737 Maxes.
There’s some commonality in parts and stuff like that, but long-term we intend to continue having a mixed fleet where we have both Airbuses and Boeing products available at various locations in the country.
The Message to Travelers
Q: What’s your message to customers?
SG: Ideally, the average Allegiant customer or Sun Country customer doesn’t notice anything different right now.
Really there’s not a whole lot of immediate change. We’re still exploring what opportunities there are to standardize both fleets in terms of the seating configuration, in terms of the onboard experience.
This summer we’re excited to see such strong demand across the U.S. and take people as both carriers have always done, to the places they want to visit, to see friends and family.
We’re still working on the details of the new frequent flyer program, too, and will have more news to share on that later.
Q: Anything else you want travelers to know?
SG: There’s not a whole lot of change for customers. There shouldn’t be any change in the experience. Our teams are all working on making sure we have stability and then go from there.
We’re just trying to keep an eye on our space in the industry and be the combined carrier that continues providing service to folks all across the country.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter who wrote the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY.
