How The Allegiant-Sun Country Merger Could Reshape Air Travel

MINNEAPOLIS (WJON News) -- Minnesota's Sun Country Airlines is being acquired by Allegiant in a one-point-five-billion-dollar deal. On Sunday, Allegiant announced the deal and a pledge to maintain a significant presence at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Read More: Allegiant Airlines To Acquire Sun Country Airlines In Major Deal |

Kyle Potter is the Executive Editor of Minneapolis-based Thrifty Traveler. He says Sun Country has been a bright spot in the low-cost carrier industry for three years now. And, he says, to a lesser extent, Allegiant is pretty healthy too.

What's driving this is, when airlines want to grow and need to grow in order to continue generating more revenue and try to increase profitability, the easiest way to grow is just to buy another airline, you get those planes, you get those pilots, you get those routes.  That's what's driving this acquistiion.

The two airlines have a combined more than 650 routes, including 551 Allegiant routes and 105 Sun Country routes.

CEOs of both companies said the acquisition would ultimately benefit air travelers and Minnesota.

Potter says we'll have to wait and see how this might impact travelers flying in and out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He says the best-case scenario is that the number of flights remains at current levels.

Sun Country lives up to the promises that is was apparently given, which is that Allegiant will maintain a significant presence in Minneapolis.

Potter says a worst-case scenario is that Allegiant will scale back over time. Right now, Sun Country prides itself as a competitor to larger airlines like Delta.

Offering travelers a cheaper fare than Delta will sell them for, and in many ways, that has kept Delta in check and have forced Delta to be more competitive on price.  Allegiant just doesn't do that, it's entire business model is built around flying from smaller cities like St. Cloud and Sioux Falls.

The merger is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year. The combined company will continue under the Allegiant name.

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If approved by regulators and investors, the Twin Cities will be without a scheduled service commercial airline for the first time since the Great Depression.