ALLEGIANT REPORTS DECEMBER 2021 TRAFFIC

Rhea-AI Summary

On January 18, 2022, Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ: ALGT) reported its preliminary passenger traffic results for December 2021 and the fourth quarter. The company's scheduled capacity increased by 14.5% compared to 2019, with an impressive load factor of 78.8%. Total operating revenue for the quarter was approximately $496 million, marking a 7.5% increase from 2019. This quarter marks its third consecutive profitable quarter since the pandemic began, despite facing operational challenges primarily due to Omicron-related crew shortages, which impacted costs by about $23 million.

Positive

• Total operating revenue of approximately $496 million for Q4 2021, up 7.5% from 2019.
• Load factor of 78.8%, highest since the pandemic began.
• Third consecutive quarter of profitability since the pandemic started.

Negative

• Load factor decreased by 3.8 points compared to Q4 2019.
• Operational challenges from crew shortages due to Omicron, leading to $23 million in additional costs.

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ: ALGT) today reported preliminary passenger traffic results for December 2021, fourth quarter 2021, and full year 2021.

"Fourth quarter scheduled capacity was up 14.5 percent as compared with 2019, in line with our initial expectations," stated Drew Wells, senior vice president of revenue. "Despite a challenging operating environment during the Christmas holiday peak-period, we ended the quarter with a load factor of 78.8 percent, the highest since the onset of the pandemic. Although Omicron led to an uptick in customer cancellations, daily booking trends throughout the quarter consistently outperformed levels observed in 2019. This strength in bookings resulted in total operating revenue of roughly $496 million for the quarter, an increase of more than 7.5 percent when compared with 2019."

"We are pleased to report that the fourth quarter will be our third consecutive quarter of profitability since the onset of the pandemic," stated Gregory Anderson, executive vice president and chief financial officer. "Despite operational challenges around holiday peak travel, we expect an adjusted¹ EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter of roughly 19 percent. This margin includes nearly $23 million of irregular operations costs incurred during the quarter, the majority of which were incurred in December. Operational challenges were predominantly a result of crew shortages related to Omicron. Although these challenges continued into early January, we are beginning to see relief and expect significant improvement in the operation as the Omicron variant begins to dissipate."  

Scheduled Service – Year Over Two-Year Comparison
	December 2021	December 2019	Change
Passengers	1,320,403	1,308,341	0.9%
Revenue passenger miles (000)	1,226,131	1,165,902	5.2%
Available seat miles (000)	1,556,101	1,411,107	10.3%
Load factor	78.8%	82.6%	(3.8 pts)
Departures	9,801	9,423	4.0%
Average stage length (miles)	902	871	3.6%
	4th Quarter 2021	4th Quarter 2019	Change
Passengers	3,671,032	3,516,263	4.4%
Revenue passenger miles (000)	3,306,563	3,073,055	7.6%
Available seat miles (000)	4,288,133	3,745,031	14.5%
Load factor	77.1%	82.1%	(5.0pts)
Departures	27,818	25,541	8.9%
Average stage length (miles)	876	856	2.3%
	YTD 2021	YTD 2019	Change
Passengers	13,509,544	14,823,267	(8.9%)
Revenue passenger miles (000)	11,963,715	13,038,003	(8.2%)
Available seat miles (000)	17,027,902	15,545,818	9.5%
Load factor	70.3%	83.9%	(13.6pts)
Departures	113,121	105,690	7.0%
Average stage length (miles)	862	859	0.3%

 

Total System* - Year Over Two-Year Comparison
	December 2021	December 2019	Change
Passengers	1,327,884	1,318,872	0.7%
Available seat miles (000)	1,586,060	1,453,592	9.1%
Departures	10,065	9,742	3.3%
Average stage length (miles)	896	868	3.2%
	4th Quarter 2021	4th Quarter 2019	Change
Passengers	3,731,034	3,585,966	4.0%
Available seat miles (000)	4,440,839	3,928,536	13.0%
Departures	29,193	27,088	7.8%
Average stage length (miles)	865	846	2.2%
	YTD 2021	YTD 2019	Change
Passengers	13,637,405	15,012,149	(9.2%)
Available seat miles (000)	17,490,571	16,174,240	8.1%
Departures	117,047	110,542	5.9%
Average stage length (miles)	856	855	0.1%

 

Scheduled Service – Year Over Year Comparison
	December 2021	December 2020	Change
Passengers	1,320,403	673,041	96.2%
Revenue passenger miles (000)	1,226,131	611,429	100.5%
Available seat miles (000)	1,556,101	1,128,200	37.9%
Load factor	78.8%	54.2%	24.6pts
Departures	9,801	7,281	34.6%
Average stage length (miles)	902	891	1.2%
	4th Quarter 2021	4th Quarter 2020	Change
Passengers	3,671,032	2,129,292	72.4%
Revenue passenger miles (000)	3,306,563	1,878,831	76.0%
Available seat miles (000)	4,288,133	3,226,050	32.9%
Load factor	77.1%	58.2%	18.9pts
Departures	27,818	21,399	30.0%
Average stage length (miles)	876	868	0.9%
	YTD 2021	YTD 2020	Change
Passengers	13,509,544	8,553,623	57.9%
Revenue passenger miles (000)	11,963,715	7,626,470	56.9%
Available seat miles (000)	17,027,902	12,814,080	32.9%
Load factor	70.3%	59.5%	10.8pts
Departures	113,121	85,276	32.7%
Average stage length (miles)	862	867	(0.6%)

 

Total System* - Year Over Year Comparison
	December 2021	December 2020	Change
Passengers	1,327,884	679,424	95.4%
Available seat miles (000)	1,586,060	1,147,534	38.2%
Departures	10,065	7,471	34.7%
Average stage length (miles)	896	883	1.5%
	4th Quarter 2021	4th Quarter 2020	Change
Passengers	3,731,034	2,159,035	72.8%
Available seat miles (000)	4,440,839	3,315,599	33.9%
Departures	29,193	22,189	31.6%
Average stage length (miles)	865	860	0.6%
	YTD 2021	YTD 2020	Change
Passengers	13,637,405	8,623,984	58.1%
Available seat miles (000)	17,490,571	13,125,533	33.3%
Departures	117,047	87,955	33.1%
Average stage length (miles)	856	862	(0.7%)

*Total system includes scheduled service and fixed fee contract.  System revenue passenger miles and system load factor are not useful statistics as system available seat miles include both ASMs flown by fixed fee flying as well as non-revenue producing repositioning flights used for operational needs.  Fixed fee flying is better measured through dollar contribution versus operational statistics.

 

Preliminary Financial Results
	$ per gallon
December 2021 estimated average fuel cost per gallon – system	$2.37
	$ per gallon
4th quarter 2021 estimated average fuel cost per gallon – system	$2.48
	$ per gallon
Full year 2021 estimated average fuel cost per gallon – system	$2.15

Allegiant Travel Company

Las Vegas-based Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) is an integrated travel company with an airline at its heart, focused on connecting customers with the people, places and experiences that matter most. Since 1999, Allegiant Air has linked travelers in small-to-medium cities to world-class vacation destinations with all-nonstop flights and industry-low average fares. Today, Allegiant's fleet serves communities across the nation, with base airfares less than half the cost of the average domestic roundtrip ticket. For more information, visit us at Allegiant.com. Media information, including photos, is available at http://gofly.us/iiFa303wrtF

ALGT/G

Note: This news release was accurate at the date of issuance. However, information contained in the release may have changed. If you plan to use the information contained herein for any purpose, verification of its continued accuracy is your responsibility.

For further information please visit the company's investor website: http://ir.allegiantair.com

Reference to the Company's website above does not constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon into this news release.

Allegiant Media Contact:		Investor Inquiries:
Sonya Padgett		Sherry Wilson
email: mediarelations@allegiantair.com		email: ir@allegiantair.com

¹ Adjusted EBITDA includes $23 million of irregular operations costs comprised primarily of customer compensation and excludes enhanced variable compensation provided to our team members in recognition of their extraordinary efforts during the pandemic as well as excludes the benefit from the Employee Retention Credit.

 

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SOURCE Allegiant Travel Company

FAQ

What were Allegiant's preliminary passenger traffic results for December 2021?

Allegiant reported 1,320,403 passengers in December 2021, a 0.9% increase compared to December 2019.

How did Allegiant perform in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to previous years?

In Q4 2021, Allegiant's total operating revenue was approximately $496 million, a 7.5% increase compared to Q4 2019.

What is the stock symbol for Allegiant Travel Company?

The stock symbol for Allegiant Travel Company is ALGT.

What challenges did Allegiant face during the fourth quarter of 2021?

Allegiant faced operational challenges mainly due to crew shortages related to the Omicron variant.

What is the load factor reported by Allegiant for Q4 2021?

Allegiant reported a load factor of 78.8% for the fourth quarter of 2021.