Allegiant Air to Stop Hawaii Flights in 2016

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Photo by Freeimages.com/Gregory Runyan

The several media outlets are reporting that Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air is pulling out of Hawaii

According to the Star Advertiser, the airline, which entered the Hawaii market in June 2012 with service from Las Vegas and Fresno, CA, said it will end service in August due to rising competition and higher costs for its Boeing 757s used on the routes. 

The airline, according to eTurboNews, said that increased competition from other carriers and rising cost of operating its 757 jets are the reasons for its decision to is pull out of Hawaii.

Allegiant, which at one time served the islands from 10 mainland cities, had cut back its schedule to include only routes to Honolulu from Las Vegas and Los Angeles, according to the Star Advertiser report.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, an Allegiant executive said a decision was reached to retire the company's five twin-engine Boeing 757 jets when they accumulate enough hours to require a D check. Considered the most rigorous maintenance event, D checks normally take about 50,000 man hours to complete, can take two months to finish and essentially involves taking the entire aircraft apart to be refurbished or have parts replaced, according to the report.

Rather than bear the expense of the heavy maintenance, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the company opted to retire the planes since there's virtually no aftermarket for the used 757s.

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