Big expansion: Allegiant targets NYC, Charlotte markets

[crxpilot]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/today...egiant-targets-nyc-charlotte-markets/2675399/


Leisure carrier Allegiant will announce a major expansion today (Aug. 20), adding flights from the greater New York City area and bringing passenger service to a second Charlotte-area airport.

In all, Allegiant will add 18 routes and 10 new cities, growing its route map to include a total of 99 U.S. destinations.

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"We are pleased to bring more convenient, low-cost vacation options to more communities," Andrew Levy, Allegiant Travel Company President says in a release.

Allegiant's 10 new cities included in today's announcement are: Clarksburg, W. Va.; Charlottesville, Va.; Concord, N.C.; Islip/Long Island MacArthur, N.Y.; Manhattan, Kan.; Newburgh/Stewart, N.Y.;
Portsmouth, N.H.; Oklahoma City; Syracuse and Tulsa.

Some of those new destinations are all but certain to catch the attention of industry observers.

Of particular note will be Allegiant's creep into the greater New York City area. The leisure carrier won't fly to the city's three busiest airports, though it will add service to two airports that sit at the edges of the New York metro area: Islip/Long Island MacArthur and Newburgh/Stewart.

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In its Tuesday announcement, Allegiant says its service at those airports will target "travelers in the New York City area" by "providing a low-cost travel alternative to the beaches of Southwest Florida."

"New Yorkers love a great deal," Jude Bricker, Allegiant's Senior Vice President of Planning, says in a statement. "We think our low fares and special package rates on hotels and rental cars will appeal to travelers looking to spend less on their vacations."

Islip's Long Island MacArthur Airport is located about 50 miles from Midtown Manhattan and was Southwest's choice for its first flights to the greater New York City area back in 1999. Transit connections are fairly easy to access from MacArthur, which also has air service on US Airways Express (to Philadelphia) and PenAir (to Boston).

Newburgh/Stewart International is located about 70 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It's run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that also operates the LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty airports. The Port Authority hopes to turn Stewart International for a reliever airport for the metro area, though Stewart's transit connections are not as easy to access as those at MacArthur. Stewart currently has service on three airlines: Delta Connection (to Detroit), JetBlue (to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando) and US Airways Express (to Philadelphia)

Elsewhere, Allegiant also seems likely to draw attention for adding two airports where it will be the only carrier offering regularly scheduled commercial service: North Carolina's Concord Regional Airport and New Hampshire's Portsmouth International Airport.

The addition of air service to the Concord airport stands out given its proximity to both downtown Charlotte and that city's existing major air hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The Concord airport is just about 15 miles from downtown Charlotte and less than 25 miles from the Charlotte airport, which is US Airways' busiest hub. Allegiant's addition of service there appears to be an attempt to position the airport as a secondary airport within the metro Charlotte area.

In New Hampshire, Allegiant's return is sure to be welcome news Portsmouth International, which has struggled to hold on to its airline during the past 15 years. Allegiant itself flew from the airport last decade before pulling out in 2007. Other airlines that have come and gone at Portsmouth since 2000 include Skybus and a now-defunct modern incarnation of Pan Am. The airport is located on New Hampshire's coast, about 60 miles north of Boston Logan and about 55 miles south of Portland International Jetport ? Maine's busiest airport.

Another departure from normal comes in Allegiant's new routes to Oklahoma City and Tulsa ? both bigger airports than the ones Allegiant typically seeks to connect to its focus cities.

Allegiant's business model focuses almost exclusively on connecting those small and medium-sized cities to its focus airports ? mostly warm-weather destinations that include airports in Florida, California and the desert Southwest.

Though Allegiant does fly to some mid-size markets, cities like Austin, Des Moines and Greensboro (N.C.) are outnumbered on the carrier's route map by smaller airports like those in Chattanooga, Grand Island (Neb.), Plattsburgh (N.Y.) and Provo (Utah).

The four other new cities joining Allegiant's route map as part of today's announcement are: Clarksburg, W. Va.; Charlottesville, Va.; Manhattan, Kan.; and Syracuse, N.Y.

Scroll down for a full list of Allegiant's routes included in Tuesday's announcement:

Nonstop service to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA)
Fort Wayne, Ind.: Begins Oct. 30, 2013
Manhattan, Kan.: Begins Nov. 7, 2013

Nonstop service Orlando-Sanford International Airport (SFB)
Bismarck, N.D.: Begins Nov. 23, 2013
Clarksburg, W. Va.: Begins Nov. 14, 2013
Charlottesville, Va.: Begins Nov. 21, 2013
Concord, N.C.: Begins Dec. 20, 2013
Oklahoma City: Begins Nov. 14, 2013
Portsmouth, N.H.: Begins Oct. 25, 2013
Springfield, Ill.: Begins Nov. 22, 2013
St. Cloud, Minn.: Begins Dec. 18, 2013
Tulsa: Begins Oct. 25, 2013

Nonstop service to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE)
Elmira, N.Y.: Begins Nov. 1, 2013
Sioux Falls, S.D.: Begins Nov. 1, 2013
Columbus Rickenbacker, Ohio: Begins Nov. 23, 2013
Fargo, N.D.: Begins Nov. 23, 2013
Newburgh/Stewart, N.Y.: Begins Oct. 31, 2013
Syracuse, N.Y.: Begins Nov. 7, 2013

Nonstop service to Florida's Punta Gorda Airport (PGD)
Islip/Long Island, N.Y.: Begins Dec. 20, 2013

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An Allegiant Air jet flies past the Luxor Resort & Casino after taking off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on May 9, 2013. While other U.S. airlines have struggled with the ups and downs of the economy and oil prices, tiny Allegiant Air has been profitable for 10 straight years. David Becker, AP Fullscreen

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[Heavy Set]

Good for them. Are they getting more MD80s or A319/20s to serve these new markets? I thought the plan was to replace the older MD80s with Airbus?

 

[reepicheep]

Some are replacements some growth.

 

[FL280]

MD80 in CHO..............good luck with that.

 

[N1atEcon]

Hopefully they can work on ontime perfomance. I have flown them on for three roundtrip flights since April (paid tickets not JS). 45 late, 7 hrs late, 30 late and 2:45 late. Awful!

 

[ClippedWings]

Hopefully they can work on ontime perfomance. I have flown them on for three roundtrip flights since April (paid tickets not JS). 45 late, 7 hrs late, 30 late and 2:45 late. Awful!

Why do you keep flying if it is so awful??? Maybe because it's cheap?? That is why people keep riding on Allegiant and Spirit. Because it is cheap!!

 

[N1atEcon]

Why do you keep flying if it is so awful??? Maybe because it's cheap?? That is why people keep riding on Allegiant and Spirit. Because it is cheap!!

Because they are the only ones that do non stops from the city pairs I fly to and from. They aren't that cheap if you pick a seat and take bags. We did it for convenience.

I see you work for them. FYI cheap shouldn't equate to justifying one of the worst on time performance records. In read an article in June you guys were in the 60% range.

 

[temcgrew]

Just FYI, the 7 hour delays are only in the winter. Radome paint doesn't dry very fast.

 

[ClippedWings]

Because they are the only ones that do non stops from the city pairs I fly to and from. They aren't that cheap if you pick a seat and take bags. We did it for convenience.

I see you work for them. FYI cheap shouldn't equate to justifying one of the worst on time performance records. In read an article in June you guys were in the 60% range.

You know the saying..... You get what you pay for. People don't shop at Walmart for the friendly smiles and awesome products... It's cheap. Allegiant doesn't have the frequency of flights like the majors do. If an airplane breaks down on United, most likely they have multiple flights they can re-accommodate on. Plus they have multiple maintenance facilities. Allegiant is all out and backs. If I fly from Orlando to Fargo and break down in Fargo... contract mx is called. They will dispatch another airplane from Orlando if contract can't fix it. That is where you might see your 6 hour delays. This is how allegiant controls the cost. I feel your pain brother. I do work for allegiant and I love it here but if I choose to go on vacation with my family it most likely wouldn't be on allegiant. Not because they are unsafe but I prefer a little more class. Allegiant targets the same type of people that shop at Walmart. I don't like Walmart.

 

[Vegaspilot99]

Growth is good...just wish more of it was out west.