Allegiant Air’s Memphis-to-Los Angeles flight will go on hiatus in May, according to the airline.
The Las Vegas-based, low-cost airline told The Commercial Appeal Tuesday that its route from Memphis International Airport (MEM) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is on sale for travel through May 12, after which it is scheduled to go on hiatus. Allegiant would not share if the route would resume.
“For competitive reasons, we can’t share future route plans,” Allegiant said in a statement. “However, we have a dedicated team of network planners who are constantly analyzing our service, as well as market conditions, to best fit our customers’ needs. We will continue to assess our current and past markets and adjust service accordingly.”
Allegiant said it is focused on leisure travel, and its business model is built to provide the airline the flexibility to start and stop service as industry dynamics evolve. As a rule, Allegiant considers all its routes to be seasonal due to its business model built on demand and seasonality, the airline said.
“Our structure is designed to be flexible so that we can offer leisure travelers low-cost airfare during vacation seasons,” Allegiant said in a statement. “That said, each city is unique and has its own season, so the period when we offer a particular route or put it on a seasonal hiatus can vary.”
According to an article published recently in simpleflying.com, Allegiant Air plans to close its operating base at Los Angeles International Airport, where the carrier has traditionally had a crew base and operated numerous daily flights.
With the airline deciding to end its operating base at Los Angeles International Airport, Memphis was one of nine separate routes being paused that operate out of the facility. Allegiant, according to Aero Crew News, has found unsustainable operating costs that are more than $50 per darting passenger, something that has enticed it to shut down its operating base.
“We are aware of the recent operational changes announced by Allegiant Airlines regarding Los Angeles (LAX) service,” Memphis International Airport said in a statement. “Allegiant Airlines has been a solid partner and is very important to MEM. Although their decision is unfortunate and impacts other airports, we want to remind passengers that MEM continues to provide nonstop service to LAX through our airline partner, Delta Airlines.”
Despite the Los Angeles route being paused, Allegiant still offers five other nonstop flights out of Memphis:
Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610. To keep up with the latest news from the Shelby County suburbs, sign up here for our Suburban Pulse weekly newsletter.

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