Allegiant Air debuts first of its new Airbus A320 fleet in Sanford

SANFORD, Fla. — Allegiant Air unveiled its first brand new Airbus A320 Tuesday morning at Orlando Sanford International Airport.

The company said the unveiling of the new plane is another step in the airline's planned transition to an all-Airbus fleet by 2019.

"It's just a beautiful aircraft," airport president Diane Crews said. "You can't really describe it more than that."

Allegiant said it began retiring its current fleet of planes Tuesday.

"Transitioning to this new airplane is going to give us a low fuel burn, and it's going to allow us to have more seats on every departure," said Robert Neal, an Allegiant vice president.

Allegiant officials said the plane's engine is quieter and more reliable. It has nine more seats, increasing the number of passengers per flight to 186.

Tuesday's event marked the arrival of the first of 12 new aircraft expected to enter service over the next year.

The company said it has flown used Airbus planes since 2013.

"It appears the four-year test-drive was rather convincing," said Bob Lekites, an Airbus vice president.

Allegiant currently has a total of 79 Airbus aircraft either in service or committed for future delivery.

Cox Media Group