Allegiant Air has gone on the defensive after details were published of a Federal Aviation Administration report highlighting a litany of maintenance issues.
The Washington Post published safety problems causing a statistically high number of aborted takeoffs, and emergency landings from January 1, 2015 through March 2016.
It cited Allegiant had about nine times as many incidents over the same period than Delta Air Lines using similar planes and of a similar age.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant said it invested $103.2 million for aircraft maintenance in the year to June 30, representing nearly 8% its total revenue of $1.3 billion, said Jude Bricker, the airline’s chief operating officer.
Many of the safety issues highlighted in the report are now ‘outdated,’ Bricker said.
"Every time an airplane flies, first and foremost, it complies with all the maintenance required by the Federal Aviation Administration and the company.
"We’re investing heavily in our fleet renewal program, and we negotiated a deal with our pilots and we had an FAA report that only found minor issues. I feel really good about where we’re at right now."
The FAA completed a three-month safety review at the airline on June 30.
The ‘minor’ infractions did not result in any penalties or enforcement action against the airline, Bricker said.
