Allegiant Air opens new training facility

Allegiant Air has opened a state-of-the-art training facility in Las Vegas and has begun work there with its first class of pilots and flight attendants.

The multimillion-dollar, 17,500-square-foot center on South Decatur Boulevard houses two Airbus A320 full flight simulators, one A320 advanced flight training device, an A320 systems trainer and an MD-80 advanced flight training device. It also has evacuation training systems for MD-80s, Boeing 757 door and window evacuations, A319/320 door and window evacuations, a fire trainer and ditching equipment. A second MD-80 simulator is planned later this year.

There also are three inflight classrooms that can accommodate up to 150 people and five pilot classrooms for up to 96 trainees.

All initial crew hires will be required to train at the two-story facility and the company plans recurrent training twice a year.

Allegiant executives decided in 2013 to build the facility and in July, the Federal Aviation Administration approved its use. The company opened the facility for employee and media tours on Tuesday.

The Las Vegas airline has three aircraft types and will continue to require pilots to train offsite in 757 simulators because it has the fewest of those planes in the fleet.

The company also is planning a similar training center in Orlando, Fla., to accommodate the airline's East Coast-based crews.

"The ability to train pilots and flight attendants together in a single state-of-the-art facility will increase efficiency, foster collaboration and cooperation and ensure Allegiant crews will continue to receive training above and beyond industry standards," Allegiant spokeswoman Jessica Wheeler said.

Tuesday was a big day for Allegiant.

Earlier in the day, the company announced a series of new routes, including four new destinations from McCarran International Airport.

Round-trip, nonstop flights will begin Nov. 5 to and from Belleville, Ill.; Oklahoma City; and San Antonio. Service will start in Telluride, Colo., in December.

The new flights will operate twice weekly and are among 47 routes that operate from McCarran.

The company is kicking off the new routes with promotional one-way fares of $49.

The Telluride flight will be seasonal, operating December through spring during the ski season and flights will land at Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado. The rest of the new flights will be year-round.

The new Las Vegas flights are part of Allegiant's 17-route expansion announced Tuesday. Two new cities — San Antonio and Kansas City, Mo. — are being added to the Allegiant route map.

The company also announced Tuesday that it would open its 13th crew base at Pittsburgh International Airport in December. The company will have 12 weekly flights between Pittsburgh and five destinations and the new base is expected to have 40 flight crew and airport personnel.

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find @RickVelotta on Twitter.