The parent company of Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, an ultra-low-cost carrier that flies mostly from small, underserved cities to warm-weather tourist spots, reported earnings today for the quarter ending March 31.
Company: Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ:ALGT)
Revenue: $348.6 million (up 5.9 percent from the same period last year).
Earnings: $72 million in profit (up 11 percent from the same period last year).
Earnings per share: $4.29 (up 14.7 percent from the same period last year).
Allegiant, with small base fares and a big menu of add-on fees, said its average total fare last quarter was $130.02, down 8.6 percent from a year earlier.
But it flew about 2.6 million passengers in the first quarter, up 15.5 percent from a year earlier, and jet-fuel costs continued to slide.
Allegiant consumed 40.2 million gallons of fuel last quarter, up 14.7 percent from a year earlier, though its average cost per gallon was $1.29, down 34.2 percent.
Overall, the carrier spent $53.7 million on jet fuel in the first quarter, down 22.9 percent from the same period last year.