Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines officially merged into one company in May, but travelers shouldn’t expect major changes this summer.
According to airline officials, it will take 18 to 24 months for the combined airline to fully fly under one operating certificate, meaning the individual brands will remain as such until then.
Still, the larger leisure carrier, which will eventually operate under the Allegiant brand, could mean a change in the travel experience for customers of both airlines in the long run. However, the airlines have not yet announced what their new, combined frequent flyer program will look like. The answer on that is yet to come.
USA TODAY sat down with Kristen Schilling-Gonzales, Allegiant’s vice president of networks, planning and charters, to learn more about the continued integration of the two companies. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What does this merger mean for passengers?
Question: What does this merger mean for your passengers?
Schilling-Gonzales: This is the most important question: How do we best serve our customers from both a Legacy Allegiant approach and a Legacy Sun Country approach?
We are both two profitable companies; We don’t need to change everything immediately to save each other. It’s really exciting for us to be able to bring this together.
On Allegiant, we have service from approximately 125 cities across the country as well as internationally, and Sun Country adds to those.
Both carriers are already selling each other’s flights on both websites. These are really the initial components of what this means for customers; This is just the beginning.
What changes should customers expect now?
Why: What changes should customers of both airlines expect as the integration continues?
SG: For the next 18 to 24 months – until we have a single operating certificate – both carriers will operate their own metal (aircraft) and their own crews.
On the Sun Country side, we’re trying to incorporate some of the things they do so well. The level of customer service we see is phenomenal.
We’re going to start moving our facilities together at some airports, so you can check in at ticket counters right next to each other.
finalize integration
Why: What steps are needed to finalize the integration?
SG: We are jointly working together on things like: How do we plan our program together moving forward from summer 2027?
When we start flying under a single operating certificate, going forward it will be the Allegiant brand. We are working on negotiations with working groups on single labor agreements.
At the moment, we are still operating as two separate carriers, so passengers cannot book mixed itineraries on a single ticket. They have to be booked on one carrier or the other.
This will get a little easier as we get closer to a single operating certificate. This is all a bit more interesting because we actually only have one route that overlaps between the two carriers. There aren’t many places where you’ll find mixed options right now.
fleet of the future
Why: What does the future airline fleet look like?
SG: Sun Country operates exclusively Boeing 737s. At Allegiant, we have both the Airbus A320 family as well as the Boeing 737 Max.
There are some similarities in parts and things like that, but long term we intend to continue to have a mixed fleet where we have both Airbus and Boeing products available at different locations in the country.
message to passengers
Why: What is your message to customers?
SG: Ideally, the average Allegiant customer or Sun Country customer won’t notice anything different right now.
There really hasn’t been much immediate change. We are still exploring what opportunities there are to standardize both fleets in terms of seating arrangements, onboard experience.
We’re excited to see such strong demand across the United States this summer and will be taking people as both carriers have always done, to the places they want to go, to meet friends and family.
We’re still working out the details of the new frequent flyer program, and will have more news to share on it later.
Why: Anything else you want travelers to know?
SG: There is not much change for customers. There should be no change in experience. Our teams are working on making sure we have stability and then moving forward from there.
We’re just trying to keep an eye on our place in the industry and be the combined carrier that continues to serve people all across the country.
Zach Witcher is a travel reporter who writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY.