Allegiant Names Allard Chief Information Officer, Announces New Vice Presidents Of Flight And Stations Operations

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allegiant Travel Company (Nasdaq:ALGT) today announced Scott Allard will join the Company as Chief Information Officer. Captain Greg Baden has joined the Company as Vice President, Flight Operations/Systems Operational Command (SOC), and Greg Rehwaldt joins as the Company's Vice President of Stations.

"We are excited to be able to attract highly capable leaders who will help us manage the business as it becomes larger and more complex," stated Maurice J. Gallagher Jr., Chairman and CEO of Allegiant Travel Company.  "Strengthening our foundation is a key part of our 2011 Plan and bringing on new leadership in certain areas of the business is a very important part of that effort."

As CIO, Allard will oversee all of the Company's technology needs and will ensure Allegiant's website offers world-class e-commerce capabilities to leisure travelers in search of travel deals. Allard is a technology industry leader, particularly in the travel sector. He recently served as CIO at Spirit Airlines and previously held various leadership roles at Travelworm, American Express and Priceline. Allard will be an executive officer of the Company and will report directly to the Company's CEO.

In his role as Vice President of Flight Operations/SOC, Captain Baden will oversee the Company's pilots, pilot training and system operations control. Previously, Captain Baden was Managing Director of Flying at Delta Airlines, where he was responsible for 12,000 pilots worldwide. Prior to that, Captain Baden was the Chief Pilot and Managing Director of Flight Operations for Northwest Airlines. He joins Allegiant with more than 20,000 hours of flying experience in fleet types that include DC10, A-320, A-330, B727, B747, B757 and B767. 

Rehwaldt recently joined Allegiant to oversee the Company's station operations. Rehwaldt was most recently the Vice President of Operations for UnitedHealth Group. Prior to that, he worked independently with several aviation-related companies including Cavok Consulting and Mesaba Airlines. Rehwaldt started his career with Northwest Airlines working in a leadership role in various customer service and maintenance positions.