The Anti-Spirit Merger: Why Allegiant-Sun Country Makes Sense

The U.S. low-cost airline sector has been getting crushed, but the surprise merger between Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines is not driven by weakness or desperation.

It’s the opposite: They are two of the most disciplined, profitable, and strategically coherent airlines in the segment.

Both carriers have consistently outperformed low-cost peers on profitability, even as cost inflation, labor pressure, and competition from network carriers intensified.

A chart of operating margins for the past six quarters tells the story: While peers like Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlin