Another budget airline is diving headfirst into first class.
Allegiant Air this week announced it’s joining the wave of discounters embracing “premium.” The Las Vegas-based carrier will launch a new first-class cabin beginning in 2027.
Tickets are expected to go on sale in the coming weeks.
The new seats appear to be right on par with what you’d expect in a domestic first-class seat — spacious recliners, calf rests, cocktail trays and extra storage.
But for Allegiant, this move marks a dramatic shift from how it’s done business in the past.
The airline has long offered a true budget airline experience: no-frills cabins, cheap fares and add-on fees for everything else. Its true calling card: a unique route network between underserved cities and vacation destinations.
Airlines race to embrace ‘premium’
Across the industry, though, carriers — including low-cost airlines — have been racing to build up their premium offerings.
Frontier Airlines and JetBlue are each preparing to debut domestic first-class cabins by the end of this year. And Southwest Airlines admits it’s thinking hard about airport lounges.
Now, add Allegiant to the mix.
“This is about giving customers more ways to travel with us,” chief commercial officer Drew Wells said of the carrier’s first-class plans. “Travelers are increasingly looking for more comfort, more personalization and more flexibility, and these new offerings are a meaningful step forward in delivering that.”
‘Allegiant First’
Allegiant plans to begin phasing first-class recliners onto “select aircraft” in 2027, with the seats likely to debut next spring.
Once on board its aircraft, they’ll take up the first two rows of its planes, arranged in a two-by-two configuration. That’s eight first-class seats in total.
Expect some soft product upgrades in the cabin, too; the carrier is promising some “upgraded service elements” that will come with the nicer seats.
Tickets for “Allegiant First” will go on sale in mid-August.
Allegiant Extra not going away
The new first-class cabin will not spell the end of the “Allegiant Extra” seats the airline debuted in recent years. Executives have said the extra legroom seating option has been a major success for the company.
Free on-board drinks are coming, too
It’s not just new seats. Allegiant announced a new policy for its flights that will likely be a hit with travelers in the back of the plane.
Beginning this weekend, the airline no longer plans to charge customers for soft drinks, sodas, juice and water for free inflight.
On budget airlines, those basic refreshments are often not free!
But as of Aug. 1, they will be on Allegiant.
Passengers with the airline’s credit card will get additional beverage options for free, including alcoholic drinks, coffee, protein shakes and sports drinks.
A long time coming
News of Allegiant’s first-class seats this week didn’t come as a complete surprise.
Speaking exclusively to TPG last summer, the airline’s CEO, Greg Anderson, had acknowledged the carrier had been “studying” the possibility of adding a premium seating option.
At the time, Anderson said the “safe play” would be to avoid first-class, and lean into its extra legroom product.
“We want to kind of continue to monitor the trends,” he told me, “and make that call down the road.”
The company has now made up its mind — and it’s going with the first-class seats.
The move comes just months after Allegiant got larger by acquiring former rival Sun Country Airlines.
Allegiant has also teased major future upgrades to its Allways loyalty program.
More recently, the carrier won the reliability category of TPG’s 2026 Best Airlines Report.
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