Allegiant and Sun Country tap their unique strengths to jumpstart US low cost consolidation

The decision by Allegiant Air to acquire Sun Country Airlines may have caught the US airline aviation industry off guard, but the more surprising aspect of that development is that those two airlines were the first to kick off consolidation in the country's low-cost sector.

At the end of 2025 most of the attention centred on off-again/on-again talks between Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines, which appeared to restart as the year came to a close.

Allegiant and Sun Country's plan to merge has received a nearly overwhelmingly positive response, and their proposed combination should easily gain requisite regulatory approvals.

Their decision to combine is also well timed, as their larger scale should give the airline more depth and breadth to target those customers left behind in the USA's K-shaped economy.

One key to the success of the planned merger is Allegiant and Sun Country executing their similar business strategies on a larger scale while staying out of the crosshairs of the largest US airlines - in other words, remaining in their lane.

For now, the airlines are showing no indications of deviating from what works.