Sounds like the gloves have come off.... gonna be interesting.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=620002939.blog
Battle for Orlando? Allegiant warns AirTran 'we're not a soft option'
For years, flying to Orlando on Allegiant Air meant a flight into Sanford International (SFB), the metro area's secondary airport. Not any more. In a move that highlights increasing competition with low-cost rivals, Allegiant announced Tuesday it will begin flying into Orlando International (MCO) – the city's primary airport – as well as to its longtime base at SFB.
Allegiant says it's making the move to allow customers easier access to the Orlando-area’s top tourist attractions, many of which are closer to MCO than SFB. However, Allegiant also acknowledges the switch "improves our position relative to competitors with service to Orlando International."
ATW Online writes that "by the first week of March, (Allegiant) will base five MD-80s at MCO, which will become its eighth base." As part of the effort, Allegiant will switch 10 of its routes to MCO from SFB. Between Feb. 1 and March 5, Allegiant will migrate the following Orlando routes to MCO: Allentown (Pa.); Des Moines (Iowa); Grand Rapids (Mich.); Greenville/Spartanburg (S.C.); Huntington (W. Va.); Knoxville (Tenn.); Lexington (Ky.); Springfield (Mo.); Tri-Cities (Tenn.); and Youngstown (Ohio).
The switch could help make Allegiant more competitive in markets where if faces competition from other low-cost carriers, such as rival AirTran. In West Virginia, for example, Allegiant currently flies to SFB from Huntington while AirTran flies from nearby Charleston (about 50 miles away) to MCO.
Rick Atkinson, director of Charleston's Yeager Airport, tells the Charleston Daily Mail: "I think this move by Allegiant is really a response to AirTran. The AirTran product is a better product because it's going to Orlando, not Sanford." MCO is about 15-20 miles from central Orlando and about 25 from Disney World, according to Google Maps. SFB is about 25-30 miles from central Orlando and about 50 from Disney World, according to the same source.
Atkinson adds to the Daily Mail: "You can land in Clarksburg (in upstate West Virginia) and say you're landing in Charleston (about 125 miles to the south), but that's not true." He claims "it's about the same type of scenario as landing in Sanford and saying you're in Orlando. Landing in Sanford, you are still in central Florida, but you have an hour drive to Disney. … I think it (Allegiant's decision) is the result of AirTran taking market share from them and them having to look and say, 'What can we do?' "
Indeed, Allegiant officials acknowledge competition with AirTran in a story in the Orlando Sentinel. "Part of this is just to make it clear to our friends at AirTran that, you know, we're not a soft option," Robert Ashcroft, Allegiant’s vice president of planning, tells the paper. "We thought we needed to become a little more competitive with them." He adds to the Sentinel that "there are pluses and minuses to both of the airports. The advantage of Orlando International is that it's closer to where a lot of people want to go."
The Orlando Business Journal notes "Allegiant will continue to offer flights to Orlando-Sanford International Airport from the other 21 cities currently served by the airline."
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=620002939.blog
Battle for Orlando? Allegiant warns AirTran 'we're not a soft option'
For years, flying to Orlando on Allegiant Air meant a flight into Sanford International (SFB), the metro area's secondary airport. Not any more. In a move that highlights increasing competition with low-cost rivals, Allegiant announced Tuesday it will begin flying into Orlando International (MCO) – the city's primary airport – as well as to its longtime base at SFB.
Allegiant says it's making the move to allow customers easier access to the Orlando-area’s top tourist attractions, many of which are closer to MCO than SFB. However, Allegiant also acknowledges the switch "improves our position relative to competitors with service to Orlando International."
ATW Online writes that "by the first week of March, (Allegiant) will base five MD-80s at MCO, which will become its eighth base." As part of the effort, Allegiant will switch 10 of its routes to MCO from SFB. Between Feb. 1 and March 5, Allegiant will migrate the following Orlando routes to MCO: Allentown (Pa.); Des Moines (Iowa); Grand Rapids (Mich.); Greenville/Spartanburg (S.C.); Huntington (W. Va.); Knoxville (Tenn.); Lexington (Ky.); Springfield (Mo.); Tri-Cities (Tenn.); and Youngstown (Ohio).
The switch could help make Allegiant more competitive in markets where if faces competition from other low-cost carriers, such as rival AirTran. In West Virginia, for example, Allegiant currently flies to SFB from Huntington while AirTran flies from nearby Charleston (about 50 miles away) to MCO.
Rick Atkinson, director of Charleston's Yeager Airport, tells the Charleston Daily Mail: "I think this move by Allegiant is really a response to AirTran. The AirTran product is a better product because it's going to Orlando, not Sanford." MCO is about 15-20 miles from central Orlando and about 25 from Disney World, according to Google Maps. SFB is about 25-30 miles from central Orlando and about 50 from Disney World, according to the same source.
Atkinson adds to the Daily Mail: "You can land in Clarksburg (in upstate West Virginia) and say you're landing in Charleston (about 125 miles to the south), but that's not true." He claims "it's about the same type of scenario as landing in Sanford and saying you're in Orlando. Landing in Sanford, you are still in central Florida, but you have an hour drive to Disney. … I think it (Allegiant's decision) is the result of AirTran taking market share from them and them having to look and say, 'What can we do?' "
Indeed, Allegiant officials acknowledge competition with AirTran in a story in the Orlando Sentinel. "Part of this is just to make it clear to our friends at AirTran that, you know, we're not a soft option," Robert Ashcroft, Allegiant’s vice president of planning, tells the paper. "We thought we needed to become a little more competitive with them." He adds to the Sentinel that "there are pluses and minuses to both of the airports. The advantage of Orlando International is that it's closer to where a lot of people want to go."
The Orlando Business Journal notes "Allegiant will continue to offer flights to Orlando-Sanford International Airport from the other 21 cities currently served by the airline."
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