Allegiant shares close down 5%
Allegiant Airlines shares closed down 5.1% on Tuesday. The carrier reported Dec-2010 traffic increased 12.5% year-on-year, while load factor dropped 1.1ppts to 89.5%.
Allegiant expanded capacity in Dec-2010 by 13.8%. Full-year traffic increased 16.4% year-on-year, while capacity was up 16%. Allegiant forecast lower growth in early 2010, projecting capacity increases of 3-5% in 1Q2011 and 4-8% in 2Q2011.
Shares in Japan's ambitious Skymark airlines rose 1.9%. The carrier, which has an MoU with Airbus for four A380s, has seen positive momentum for its shares since Nov-2010, with its share price up more than 50% in the past two months. In Dec-2010, the carrier outlined plans to almost triple its B737 fleet from 18 to up to 50 aircraft over four years. It has also stated it could operate up to 15 A380s, into markets in Australia, Europe, North America and Asia.
Trading for most other LCCs was muted. Notable exceptions were GOL (+2.5%) and WestJet (+3), while Virgin Blue and 1Time Holdings both dipped 2.2%.
Selected LCCs' daily share price movements (% change): 11-Jan-2011
