Allegiant Air Proves Worth of Its Model as It Bucks Trend of Falling U.S. Airfares

Allegiant Air may have just provided the answer to the questions about U.S. domestic travel demand that have nagged many during the latest quarterly earnings cycle. Leisure demand is good but — and there's always a but — mostly on the specific days and to the popular destinations that Allegiant excels at flying.

Revenues, yields, and capacity were all up at the Las Vegas-based discounter in the second quarter and, while it does not provide guidance for the third quarter, executives see the trend continuing.

"In as much as demand is slightly below last year's historic high levels, we believe this simply represents a continued return to normalized pre-pandemic peak and non-peak seasonal travel patterns," Allegiant Chief Marketing Officer Scott DeAngelo said during Allegiant's second-quarter earnings call Wednesday. "We continue to view domestic leisure travel in the cities and among the customers we serve as strong."

The airline reported a $133 mill