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Allegiant Air grounds planes for inspection, delays flights
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air is delaying or canceling flights today after grounding 30 of its twin-engine MD-80 jets to inspect emergency slide systems.
Parent company Allegiant Travel announced late Thursday that it expected to complete the inspection of the aircraft by the end of the month but would ?delay, reschedule or cancel a number of flights over the next several days.?
The airline has 106 flights a week to and from Las Vegas on its 166-passenger MD-80s. The airline serves 43 nonstop destinations from McCarran International Airport, most of them on MD-80s.
Allegiant is the fifth busiest commercial carrier at McCarran.
In a media briefing this morning, Allegiant spokesman Brian Davis said the inspections would affect 18 of the airline?s 121 flights today. He did not have a number of passengers impacted.
Of the 18 flights, 16 have been rescheduled to Saturday ? a typically light flying day for the airline ? and two, between Oakland, Calif., and Reno, were canceled. Passengers on the canceled flights were being accommodated on other airlines.
Davis said the inspections of the emergency slides were triggered by an incident Monday in which one of Allegiant?s MD-80s bound for Peoria, Ill., was evacuated on a McCarran taxiway after a cockpit smoke-detector indicating smoke in the back of the aircraft was activated. Two people suffered minor injuries when 144 passengers and six crew members evacuated the jet.
When investigating that incident, the company discovered that slide manufacturers in 2007 began recommending an annual overhaul of any slide more than 15 years old. Allegiant?s inspection protocol required an inspection every three years. There are four emergency slides on each plane.
When the airline discovered the discrepancy, it opted to immediately pull all of that aircraft type from service to bring it into compliance with the slide manufacturer?s recommendation.
Since each jet has a different inspection cycle, Allegiant determined this morning that 15 of the company?s MD-80s could be immediately be placed back in service.
Davis said that because of the extraordinary nature of the delays, Allegiant ?is going above and beyond our typical compensation matrix.?
He said any passenger delayed by two hours or more would receive a $100 credit on a future Allegiant flight, four hours or more, $150, and six hours or more, $200. Any passenger rescheduled to Saturday will get the cost of the ticket refunded in addition to a $200 credit.
Davis also said passengers stranded an extra night in resort destinations ? Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa and Mesa, Ariz. ? would have their lodging paid for.
?We apologize for the disruption to our passengers and ask that they please remain patient as we work to correct the issue, reschedule affected flights and accommodate any passengers impacted,? Allegiant Travel President Andrew Levy said in a news release.
?Allegiant is committed, above all else, to the safety of our passengers and crew and we are dedicated to working around the clock to ensure that all of our fleet meets the highest standards,? Levy said.
The company said it has activated additional call center staff to contact affected passengers and reached out on social media with alerts. Passengers can check on their flight status or sign up for alerts online or by calling (702) 505-8888.
http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2013/sep/20/allegiant-air-grounds-planes-inspection-cancels-fl/
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air is delaying or canceling flights today after grounding 30 of its twin-engine MD-80 jets to inspect emergency slide systems.
Parent company Allegiant Travel announced late Thursday that it expected to complete the inspection of the aircraft by the end of the month but would ?delay, reschedule or cancel a number of flights over the next several days.?
The airline has 106 flights a week to and from Las Vegas on its 166-passenger MD-80s. The airline serves 43 nonstop destinations from McCarran International Airport, most of them on MD-80s.
Allegiant is the fifth busiest commercial carrier at McCarran.
In a media briefing this morning, Allegiant spokesman Brian Davis said the inspections would affect 18 of the airline?s 121 flights today. He did not have a number of passengers impacted.
Of the 18 flights, 16 have been rescheduled to Saturday ? a typically light flying day for the airline ? and two, between Oakland, Calif., and Reno, were canceled. Passengers on the canceled flights were being accommodated on other airlines.
Davis said the inspections of the emergency slides were triggered by an incident Monday in which one of Allegiant?s MD-80s bound for Peoria, Ill., was evacuated on a McCarran taxiway after a cockpit smoke-detector indicating smoke in the back of the aircraft was activated. Two people suffered minor injuries when 144 passengers and six crew members evacuated the jet.
When investigating that incident, the company discovered that slide manufacturers in 2007 began recommending an annual overhaul of any slide more than 15 years old. Allegiant?s inspection protocol required an inspection every three years. There are four emergency slides on each plane.
When the airline discovered the discrepancy, it opted to immediately pull all of that aircraft type from service to bring it into compliance with the slide manufacturer?s recommendation.
Since each jet has a different inspection cycle, Allegiant determined this morning that 15 of the company?s MD-80s could be immediately be placed back in service.
Davis said that because of the extraordinary nature of the delays, Allegiant ?is going above and beyond our typical compensation matrix.?
He said any passenger delayed by two hours or more would receive a $100 credit on a future Allegiant flight, four hours or more, $150, and six hours or more, $200. Any passenger rescheduled to Saturday will get the cost of the ticket refunded in addition to a $200 credit.
Davis also said passengers stranded an extra night in resort destinations ? Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa and Mesa, Ariz. ? would have their lodging paid for.
?We apologize for the disruption to our passengers and ask that they please remain patient as we work to correct the issue, reschedule affected flights and accommodate any passengers impacted,? Allegiant Travel President Andrew Levy said in a news release.
?Allegiant is committed, above all else, to the safety of our passengers and crew and we are dedicated to working around the clock to ensure that all of our fleet meets the highest standards,? Levy said.
The company said it has activated additional call center staff to contact affected passengers and reached out on social media with alerts. Passengers can check on their flight status or sign up for alerts online or by calling (702) 505-8888.
http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2013/sep/20/allegiant-air-grounds-planes-inspection-cancels-fl/
