Allegiant joins Spirit Airlines as the second U.S. carrier to implement fees for carry-on luggage.
But fuel accounts for 49% of Allegiant costs and nearly as much for Spirit, he said.
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None of them include Southwest's fares, however, or fares on the smaller but growing Allegiant Airlines.
Allegiant rides out fluctuating fuel costs by cutting flights when expensive fuel makes them unprofitable.
Two U.S. airlines, Spirit and Allegiant, also charge passengers for carry-on baggage.
Unlike any of its competitors, Allegiant has produced 32 straight quarters of profits.
Other competitors in the transportation sector include: JetBlue Airways (JBLU), US Airways (LCC), and Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT).
"Allegiant has one of the oldest and most fuel-inefficient fleets in the airline industry, " said Vaughn Cordle, an analyst with AirlineForecasts.
Although it could also pave the way for further expansion by discount airlines such as Spirit Airlines Inc. and Allegiant Travel Co.
These include AirTran Holdings, Allegiant Travel, Hawaiian Holdings, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines.
Spirit airlines (joined with Allegiant and Southwest airlines) challenged the regulation, which had been upheld in the U.S. Court of Appeals last July.
And check out AllegiantAir.com to see if Allegiant Airlines flies where you're headed, since it, too, sells tickets only on its own website.
Allegiant could, and I was willing to pay for the ticket.
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Allegiant's CEO said the airline's fares are still lower than competitors'.
Allegiant has no distinction in its share price at the moment.
Parker's top domestic pick is Allegiant Travel, which flies from small- and mid-size cities to leisure destinations like Las Vegas and South Florida, providing service with full-size jets.
If you book a flight today on the low-fare carrier Allegiant Air, www.allegiantair.com, you will notice that it bumps up the round-trip total by adding taxes and fees.
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An ultra-low-fare model gives carriers such as Allegiant and Spirit more flexibility in unbundling the costs of air travel, Cordle said, but other airlines will be watching the carry-on fee closely.
Allegiant can fly the bigger, 150-seat planes because it only operates most of its routes two to four times per week, employing many part-time staffers to help move tourists at the beginning and end of each weekend.
Parker's top domestic pick is Allegiant Travel (nasdaq: ALGT - news - people ), which flies from small- and mid-size cities to leisure destinations like Las Vegas and South Florida, providing service with full-size jets.
The agent was smart enough to understand, and after a 15-minute hold time (where the minutes ticked by and I wondered if I would be able to make the Allegiant Air flight that was now taking off in 35 minutes), he came back and let me know a manager had approved the changes without any fees.
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