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In business transportation allegiant buying comfier, more fuel-efficient planes By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer Allegiant Air recently debuted a line of airplanes that executives say will be more reliable and more efficient. The company, which is based in Las Vegas, parked a freshly painted Airbus A319 twin-engine jet at McCarran International Airport's D gates to give employees and airport executives a first look at the 156-seat plane. The next day, it went into service, running routes between Mesa, Ariz., Duluth, Minn., and Fargo, N.D. The plane is the first of 18 Airbus jets the company will acquire. Seven 177seat Airbus A320 jets will be delivered by fall, and two more A319s will be painted with Allegiant colors by the end of the year. By 2014, Allegiant will have nine A320s and nine A319s. The A320s were bought from Spain's Iberia Airlines, the A319s from Great Britain's EasyJet. "There are a lot of positives with this," said Kris Bauer, Allegiant's senior vice president of operations. "Not only will these newer planes be more reliable, we expect to save 25 percent on fuel burn." The Airbus jets can fly greater distances than Allegiant's current fleet of MD-80 jets and can be used at airports with shorter runways. That means Allegiant can expand its destination list. The company typically flies between small cities passed over by major airlines and resort destinations, such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando, Fla., and Tampa, Fla. The company will retire four twinengine MD-80s by July and dedicate one plane exclusively to charter flights to and from Wendover on the NevadaUtah border. "It initially will be just a fill-in," Allegiant CEO Maurice Gallagher said. "There's a learning curve we have to come up with. It'll probably take us a minimum of six months, if not a year, before we have enough numbers and parts and support to do this well." Although the Airbus jets have the range to fly from coast to coast or from the West Coast to Hawaii, Gallagher doesn't expect to enter the hyper-competitive transcontinental market. Still, Gallagher views the jets as gamechangers for Allegiant. Not only do they have greater capacity than the 166-seat MD-80s, their more fuel-efficient engines are quieter. The seats in the Airbus jets will be slightly more comfortable for passengers because they are about an inch wider. A larger cabin allows for six seats per row instead of the MD-80s' five. "Our goal is to exceed expectations," Gallagher said. "To say we've come a long way would be an understatement." Quality, Quick & Convenient Medical Care energy Doctors Express treats everything from cuts and bruises to fractures renewable energy bill raises concerns over higher rates and colds and everything in between. By Cy Ryan staff writer Electric companies would be required to supply more solar, wind and geothermal power to their customers under a bill introduced in the state Senate. "We are not going to consider anything to drive up the cost to the consumer," says Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Labor and Energy, which sponsored Senate Bill 252 last month. The measure comes on the heels of a complaint by state Public Utilities Commissioner David Noble that the Legislature only passes laws that jack up rates of consumers. These include requirements that NV Energy must buy a certain amount of renewable energy in supplying its customers. Renewable energy is still more 20130401_VI13_F.indd 13 expensive to produce than is energy through coal or natural gas. The state Bureau of Consumer Protection said in March the bill would result in higher rates for consumers. The current law mandates that the power company must obtain 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. The bill introduced raises that to 35 percent. U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, in his address to the Legislature, recommended the amount of renewable energy be boosted to 35 percent. Atkinson said he had his bill requested before Reid's suggestion but added he met with the senator and his staff later on the plan. Dan Jacobsen, technical staff manager for the consumer protection bureau, said he "hopes the Legislature will focus on the rate impact" of the legislation. We have on-site lab tests, x-rays and prescriptions with no appointments needed. We're a state-of-the-art urgent care center with physicians on-site every day. Our centers are open every day with extended hours. No appointments are needed and we accept most insurance plans. We are passionate about the community and are excited to sponsor Clayre's Pool Fence Fund as our charity of choice to bring the awareness of accidental drownings among children in our Valley 655 S. Green Valley Parkway, Ste 100 • Henderson, NV 89052 Open 7 days a week 7am to 7pm 702-431-7337 www.doctorsexpresslasvegas.com 3/28/13 3:56:20 PM