Company to raise fee to print boarding pass at airport

the use of the more efficient Airbus A319 fleet on its routes, using them to generate 21.9 percent of the company’s available seat miles.

In the company’s conference call, Allegiant President Andrew Levy said the company would institute a new fee for passengers to print boarding passes at airports.

The fee, $5 per printed boarding pass, is designed to push customers to print passes at home or at resorts before their flights or to use the Allegiant app to produce a mobile boarding pass on a smartphone. The new fee takes effect Sept. 1.

The company increased its fares compared with the previous year for the 18th straight quarter. The average fare for scheduled service is now at $89.63, 1.9 percent more than in the second quarter of 2013.

Company officials also told investment analysts that they expect higher depreciation and amortization expenses for the rest of the year as Allegiant buys 12 A319 jets now leased through a European operator. The company assumed $142 million in debt on the purchases.

The airline has more Airbus jets in its acquisition pipeline. The company expects to increase its fleet size from 69 at the end of the third quarter to 79 by the end of 2016.

Allegiant will add seven 156-seat A319 jets and three 177-seat A320s by the end of 2016.

The Airbus jets are newer and more fuel-efficient than the company’s 53-jet MD-80 fleet. Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow him on Twitter @RickVelotta.