Allegiant Air to Acquire Sun Country Airlines


A Sun Country Airlines Boeing 737-700 at Peoria Int'l Airport just after sunrise on June 4, 2013 prepares for departure to Washington, D.C. for an Honor Flight. 

Allegiant Air announced January 11 that it will acquire Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines. The deal has already been approved by both airlines' boards of directors and is subject to review by regulators. The airlines expect approval in the last half of 2026. 

Sun Country Airlines flies to numerous destinations from Minneapolis/St. Paul, including points in Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. It has a fleet of Boeing 737-800s. 

How might this acquisition affect Peoria and Central Illinois? Allegiant Air's joint venture proposal with Mexico's Viva Aerobus is going nowhere for now, but the Las Vegas-based carrier must see potential to offer expanded service to many international leisure destinations.

The Allegiant Air-Viva Aerobus joint venture proposal was first announced in late-2021. Detailed documents at the time revealed plans to offer nonstops from Peoria to Cancun by 2026 and Cabo San Lucas by 2030. The international terminal, completed in 2016, was built with this type of service in mind. (Allegiant Air was already hinting of plans for international leisure destinations several years before the Viva Aerobus deal was first announced.) 

Disputes between American and Mexican aviation authorities and accusations by pilots that Allegiant Air seeks to outsource their jobs to Viva Aerobus has held the deal in limbo for about two years now. Both airlines may still desire regulatory approval, but the Sun Country acquisition will enable Allegiant Air an alternative for now. 

- David P. Jordan

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2026 at 5:00 PM

    I hope our board challenges gene to aggressively pursue significant increases in destinations from the expanded Allegiant, including first out of the gate international ones. And while they are at it, build a parking garage/deck/ramp soon. Let’s get aggressive with growth plans!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David P. JordanJanuary 12, 2026 at 5:04 PM

      I think this merger, if approved, will lead to Mexican vacation points being flown nonstop from Peoria. I recall a parking deck being part of a long-term growth plan from maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I'm sure Gene Olson is on the case. I also wonder if limited frequency PIA-MSP flights might start as well?

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2026 at 6:08 PM

    As a person who has a home here and one in Minneapolis I sorely miss direct flights to MSP. Bring it back anyway possible.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peoria Int'l Airport Air Service Detail & Analysis - July 2025

Image
It is time for my annual update on local airline service.  A summer month is best for this update. I used July for 2024's update, and I have every reason to do so again this year. Barring last minute changes, the schedules and route map below are accurate. So let us delve into the present situation.  ALLEGIANT AIR Like last year, schedules for July 2025 show most flights operated with Airbus A320 equipment. They do not discern between 177-seat A320s or brand-new 186-seat A320SEOs. Smaller A319s, configured for 156 seats, are now only used on some Las Vegas and Punta Gorda flights. Brand new Boeing 737 Max 8-200 aircraft began appearing on St. Petersburg/Clearwater nonstops as early as February 2025 and are now also used on Orlando-Sanford nonstops. These aircraft are equipped with 190 seats.  Seasonal nonstops to Destin/Fort Walton Beach and year-round nonstops to Phoenix-Mesa and Punta Gorda have gained one weekly roundtrip each as compared to last year. So there are now...
Read more

Union Pacific MPECL 5-7-24

Image
Tuesday's Union Pacific MPECL was short, but I expected such as KJRY interchange moved on Friday's train.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls across W. Farmington Road shortly after leaving Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, May 7, 2024. UP 7099 and UP 8950 have 29 cars.   - David P. Jordan
Read more

Tazewell & Peoria RR Lead 2 Job 8-15-25

Image
After I left the downtown library, I checked to see if BNSF's M-PEIGAL was in the East Peoria Yard, but could not find it. I did notice a headlight down toward Iowa Junction so I circled back via I-474 and found a couple of orange geeps on the point of a covered hopper train waiting at Kickapoo Yard (with the train stretched into Bartonville). Shortly, the crew asked for permission from Iowa Junction to the East Lead.   The first 28 cars are probably phosphate empties returning to Florida via TP&W and CSX. The 26 loads are some kind of dry bulk fertilizer, possibly urea. These could be going to the Iowa Interstate, TP&W or both.  CAPTION: The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Lead 2 rolls by Darst Street in Peoria, Illinois early evening Friday, August 15, 2025. TPW 5010 and IMRR 2108 have 54 cars (28 empties/26 loads). Dry fertilizer loads and empties were pulled from Mosaic Crop Nutrition LLC, located south of Bartonville.   - David P. Jordan
Read more