Allegiant Air to offer service starting Sept. 15 to Phoenix, Long Beach
Low-fare leisure carrier Allegiant Air announced today it will begin twice weekly service Sept. 15 to Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz., and Long Beach, Calif., with introductory one-way fares starting at $29.99.
The Las Vegas-based airline, which has operated flights between the Springs and Las Vegas since 2002, will fly both routes on Wednesdays and Saturdays with the flight to Phoenix-Mesa leaving the Springs at 3:10 p.m. and arriving at 3:55 p.m. and the returning flight leaving at 6 a.m. and arriving at 8:45 a.m. The Long Beach flight will leave the Springs at 9:25 a.m. and arrive at 10:40 a.m., while the return flight will leave at 11:20 a.m. and arrive at 2:30 p.m.
"We're pleased to bring two more affordable and convenient ways for our customers to get away," said Andrew C. Levy, Allegiant's president. "In 2002, we began serving Colorado Springs residents by offering nonstop flights to Las Vegas. We now look forward to offering the community the only nonstop, low-cost service to Long Beach and Phoenix-Mesa."
The new service will restore flights to Phoenix that ended when US Airways pulled out of the Springs on Jan. 4, citing increased low-fare competition at Denver International Airport that had made serving the Springs unprofitable.
"The Allegiant service to Las Vegas has been a very successful route at the Colorado Springs Airport," said Mark Earle, the city's aviation director. "The addition of the new nonstop Allegiant service to Phoenix and Long Beach means our customers will now have low-cost service to three of our top destinations."
Colorado Springs hasn’t had nonstop service to Long Beach for at least 25 years; United Express offers nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airport, which is about 20 miles northwest of Long Beach.
Colorado Springs was one of the first two cities Allegiant began serving five months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when a founder of ValuJet Airlines took control of Allegiant and began offering flights to Las Vegas from smaller cities such as Colorado Springs. The company has since grown to offer flights to 70 cities, including resort destinations such as Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa, Fla., Phoenix and Los Angeles.
The Springs will be the third city to which Allegiant has added Long Beach service this year. The airline specializes in travel packages that include air fare, hotel, rental car and entertainment for a discounted price.
The airline uses a fleet of 46 MD-80 aircraft. In March, the airline said it plans to buy six Boeing 757 aircraft -- two this year and four next year -- so it can begin service to Hawaii late in 2010. Allegiant has not said what cities will get Hawaii flights.
Even as most airlines lost money last year, Allegiant more than doubled its profits to $76.3 million, or $3.76 a share, despite revenue growth of just 10.7 percent. That’s mostly because the airline cut its operating expense per passenger by 21.6 percent.
Although profits have declined in the past two quarters from a year earlier, Allegiant has remained profitable every quarter for more than seven years.
—
Contact the writer at 636-0234.
