M. Wynn: "Wild Card" Aviation Photography & Images: Gallery Update: Allegiant Air Sighting in Portland

About This Blog:

The primary purpose of this blog is to showcase the best of my aviation photography. As such, you will find links to my main aviation gallery on Facebook containing photos from aircraft spotting, some kind of aviation event such as air shows and fly-in events, as well as aviation museums. I also critique my flights on commercial airlines and the services they provide. Occassionally, you'll find personally written, independent articles based on news and current events involving aviation. And of course, I'll put up links to official and unofficial aviation-related websites when I find them. And when time permits, I'll talk and discuss about anything involving aviation. But most importantly, this is my way to document my journey into the aviation industry!

Friday, January 7, 2022

Gallery Update: Allegiant Air Sighting in Portland

Happy New Year!

This was a last-minute spotting trip I took after leaving work early, but I had to drive up to Portland to pick up some relatives who were flying in from Idaho for a visit this weekend. After finding a cheap fare on Allegiant Air for a direct flight from Idaho Falls to Portland, my relatives apparently jumped at this opportunity. That's right, Allegiant Air now has regularly-scheduled services to PDX now, which was something I don't think anyone saw coming!

A year ago, the Las Vegas-based ultra low-cost carrier announced that they would begin serving Portland initially with flights to Santa Maria and Monterey in California as well as Idaho Falls, which all began in the spring of last year. As it was still the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and domestic leisure travel was recovering much faster than international and business, Allegiant capitalized on unique route opportunities and COVID-weary travelers itching to get out by utilizing their well-known business model to give people the opportunity to travel and recreate in and around popular outdoor attractions (which all three initial destinations had in common) after a dismal year for aviation. The California routes certainly made sense, but connecting Idaho Falls and Portland was certainly a surprise move initially; but given Idaho Falls' proximity to Yellowstone National Park along with other outdoor attractions, the unique city-pairs certainly would work (in theory!) and it has definitely given my relatives a unique opportunity! These new offerings that started last year is Allegiant's first foray into PDX.

Allegiant started service between PDX and Santa Maria on April 15, 2021 with Monterey and Idaho Falls following suit on May 28. Since then, the carrier has also started flying routes to Billings and Missoula (Montana), Des Moines (Iowa), and Grand Rapids (Michigan) on a seasonal basis as of last summer.

Aside from my first time seeing Allegiant at PDX, I was also pleased to catch one of Alaska Airlines' 737s in the OneWorld livery (a new sight since joining the global airline alliance), another one of their 737 MAX 9s, and a few other worthwhile catches.

Portland (PDX) 68

Preview:

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990 (N318AS) arriving on 28L as ASA9903 from Palm Springs. Originally supposed to arrive earlier in the morning as ASA244 but that flight was cancelled. Formerly painted in the "Spirit of Disneyland II" special livery.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 (N506AS) taxiing for departure as ASA1244 for Seattle-Tacoma.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990/ER (N486AS) in the OneWorld livery arriving on 28L as ASA1446 from San Diego. My first time seeing the OneWorld livery on an Alaska Airlines frame! This was the second 737 in Alaska's fleet to receive the livery after joining the global airline alliance.

Alaska Airlines Airbus A320-214 (N361VA) arriving on 28L as ASA565 from Los Angeles. Former "Jersey Girl" with Virgin America.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 (N551AS) taxiing for departure as ASA1366 for Las Vegas.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 (N924AK) taxiing for departure as ASA1187 for Kailua-Kona. As more 737 MAX 9s join the fleet, Alaska Airlines is putting them on some of their longer routes, including west coast routes to Hawaii. Only my second time seeing an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9!

ASA1244 departing on 28L for Seattle-Tacoma.

ASA1366 departing on 28L for Las Vegas.

ASA1187 departing on 28L for Kailua-Kona.

Frontier Airlines Airbus A320-251N (N354FR) "Scarlet the Tanager" taxiing for departure as FFT2170 for Las Vegas.

United Airlines Airbus A319-131 (N836UA) arriving on 28R as UAL242 from Denver.

UAL242 turning towards the gate.

NetJets Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 (N417QS) taxiing to the FBO after arriving on 28R as EJA417 from Reno/Tahoe.

NetJets Bombardier BD-100-1A10 Challenger 350 (N781QS) taxiing to the FBO after arriving on 28R as EJA781 from Las Vegas.

Oregon Air National Guard McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle (78-0532) taxiing to the military ramp after arriving back from a sortie.

Oregon Air National Guard McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle (78-0521) taxiing to the military ramp after arriving back from a sortie.

Ameriflight Beechcraft C99 Airliner (N7200Z) operating as AMF1926 arriving on 28L. Flight attempted to fly to Redmond, but ended up diverting back to PDX due to weather.

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-243 (N388HA) taxiing for departure as HAL25 for Honolulu.

Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-402 Q400 (N435QX) in the updated University of Washington Huskies livery taxiing to the gate after arriving from Seattle-Tacoma as QXE2264. My first time seeing the updated livery for this college special! Along with a new coat of purple and the current "Alaska Horizon" titles, the "W" logo that used to be on the back of the fuselage has been replaced with the "Go Dawgs!" chant.

Allegiant Air Airbus A320-214 (N253NV) arriving on 28L as AAY37 from Idaho Falls, the flight bringing in my relatives to visit for the weekend. Also my first time catching an Allegiant Airbus with the newer sharklets! As the sharklets indicate this is one of those rare airframes in Allegiant's fleet that wasn't acquired second-hand. This was one of 12 A320s Allegiant ordered directly from Airbus.

Allegiant made the order in 2015, and it was the first time in the airline's history to order directly from the manufacturer. The airline chose to do so because it was at a point where the MD-80s and 757s were in the process of being retired, not many used aircraft were coming into the fleet, and the aircraft order was available on short-notice; in fact the new airframe orders Allegiant received in a rather short amount of time from ordering to delivery allowed the airline to accelerate the retirement of their remaining MD-80s. Allegiant received 10 of their brand-new A320s in 2017 and two more in 2018. And being newer airframes, Allegiant elected to shove more seats in their new A320s (a total of 186 seats compared to 177 found in their second-hand A320s) by utilizing the Airbus Space-Flex V2 Lavatory. On an unrelated note, Allegiant surprised the industry two days ago when they announced that they've ordered 30 Boeing 737 MAX 7s and 20 737 MAX 200s!