tl;dr – The $1.5 billion merger between Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines is expected to close on May 13, 2026.
Amidst all the talk of possible consolidation and the recent death of an airline, there’s a pretty major deal that remains on track, the merger of Sun Country and Allegiant Air.
Recently, the two entities crossed a major hurdle, clearing the pathway for the acquisition, as the DOT approved their joint interim exemption application. This will allow the two airlines to continue separate operations under common ownership after the merger closes. This will allow Allegiant and Sun Country to handle all the administrative and operational plumbing required before joining up under a single operating certificate. A shareholder vote on the deal is expected for May 8, 2026.
We recently witnessed a simple situation with Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines. In April 2026, Alaska and Hawaiian formally transitioned to one shared passenger service system.
Both Allegiant and Sun Country are somewhat of budget carriers – each with its own following and different route maps. Thus, a merger like this makes sense and should generate enough synergies for the combined entity to make the deal worthwhile. Notably, Allegiant has been on a bit of a modernization kick – recently dabbling into hotel bookings powered by Agoda. It’s also made some strategic decisions about where it will continue to fly going forward.
