Allegiant Air eyeing Wi-Fi for its planes, 'studying' premium seats

Budget airlines aren't generally known for having the latest tech and entertainment options on board their planes. But Allegiant Air thinks there's one thing it can't wait on much longer: inflight Wi-Fi.

Allegiant anticipates adding onboard internet in the not-too-distant future, the carrier's top executive confirmed this week: "That is the expectation," CEO Greg Anderson told TPG.

The carrier already had initial conversations, Anderson said, about outfitting its existing Airbus planes with Starlink Wi-Fi — the same high-speed service that United Airlines is currently in the process of installing across its fleet.

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While those talks haven't yet led to a deal, adding Wi-Fi — in some form — is on the carrier's mind at a time when passengers increasingly expect to be connected while they're in the air.

"I think it's table stakes, at this point — or, it will be. It's important," Anderson said, speaking to TPG in an exclusive interview this week at the carrier's Las Vegas headquarters.

Inflight Wi-Fi is front and center

The U.S. airline industry has seen both network and budget carriers install and improve Wi-Fi service in recent years, including Spirit Airlines, Allegiant's low-cost competitor.

In fact, a growing number of carriers now offer the service for free (or plan to soon), from JetBlue to Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and, most recently, American Airlines.

Helping matters, Anderson noted, much of the infrastructure for Wi-Fi connectivity is already in place on the carrier's growing fleet of brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 jets, which Allegiant started flying late last year.

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When might customers be able to surf the internet at 35,000 feet aboard Allegiant planes?

"I don't have a timeline for you," Anderson said, "but an expectation that we would have Wi-Fi down the road."

What about first class?

Wi-Fi isn't the only area where airlines are trying to win over customers these days.

Over the last year, we've seen budget and lower-cost airlines announce all-new premium seats and products, hoping to get in on a trend that's propelled the larger network carriers like Delta and United to the industry's biggest profits in recent years.

Allegiant, for its part, does have an extra-space product called "Allegiant Extra," which offers passengers additional legroom in several rows on its planes.

Seventy-five percent of Allegiant's jets will offer the more spacious section by the end of this year, Anderson said this week, noting the product has "done really well" so far.

But the carrier has also seen Frontier Airlines and JetBlue announce domestic first-class recliners. That's on top of the "Big Front Seat" that Spirit has offered for years.

Could a more premium seat be on the horizon for Allegiant?

"It's in the discussions," Anderson acknowledged, while noting the "million-dollar question" is whether the immense demand for higher-end seats we've seen in recent years will last.

"Probably the safe play is just to [stick with] the Allegiant Extra. But the right thing for us to do is really study it," he said. "We're still far away from ... making any sort of decision. We want to kind of continue to monitor the trends, and make that call down the road."

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Looking ahead

TPG's conversation with Anderson came during a period of big change for Allegiant.

Last week, the airline announced it had reached a deal to sell the Sunseeker Resort it built and owned in Florida, ending what turned out to be an ill-fated venture far beyond the traditional airline business.

For Anderson, who assumed his post last year, the thinking behind the sale was simple: "We're an airline," he said.

An airline with new planes, 44 new routes and more to come, no less, clarifying the carrier's focus: "To me," Anderson said, "the right decision long-term is, let's get back to the airline focusing on the airline and removing that distraction." (the "distraction" being Sunseeker).

"We are always looking for ways to provide more value to our customers through various products, and we want to continue to do that," he added. "But at the heart of everything we do is this airline."

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