SHARES OF ALLEGIANT AIR NOSEDIVE FOLLOWING 60 MINUTES’ REPORT ON SAFETY CONCERNS
Shares of Allegiant Air’s parent company nosedived in early trading Monday, following a report on “60 Minutes” that raised concerns over the airline’s safety record.
Allegiant Travel Co.’s shares were down more than 5% at the opening bell after the news magazine reported the Las Vegas-based airline had more than 100 serious mechanical incidents that occurred between Jan. 1, 2016, and the end of last October. In some instances, aircraft experienced midair engine failures, flight-control malfunctions, smoke and fumes in the cabin, rapid descents and aborted takeoffs.
“60 Minutes” requested mechanical-interruption summary reports from the no-frills carrier and seven other major airlines as part of their investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration; Allegiant was the only carrier that objected to the release of the documents.
The forms showed Allegiant, on average, was nearly three and a half times more likely to have midair breakdowns than other major U.S. carriers including American, Delta, United, JetBlue and Spirit – the latter two both low-cost competitors.
Ahead of the airing of the “60 Minutes” segment, Allegiant’s shares ended Friday’s session 8.6% lower.