Allegiant Air Establishes Base at Oakland International

Allegiant Air is to establish a new operational base at Oakland International Airport from the second quarter of this year. The carrier will position two McDonnell Douglas MD-80s at the Californian airport to introduce links to seven additional markets from April 26, 2012. These comprise Billings, Bozeman, Kalispell and Missoula in Montana, Medford and Richmond in Oregon and Idaho Falls in Idaho.

"The San Francisco Bay Area is a wonderful addition to our vacation destination offerings," said Andrew Levy, President, Allegiant Travel Company. "Oakland International Airport provides our customers convenient access to all the Bay Area has to offer. We are happy to partner with an airport that operates in a low-cost, efficient manner which allows us to pass the savings on to our customer."

The expansion will build on the airline’s existing success at Oakland International and the recent addition of Phoenix-Mesa to its network. The six times weekly route was inaugurated on January 18. Oakland International has become a key gateway for inbound tourism into the San Francisco Bay area and Allegiant Air’s expansion will add considerable economic impact and growth to the area tourism. “In alignment with the Port's strategic plan, the economic impact is estimated at $75 to 100 million in the first year of operation and the addition of 60 Oakland based jobs,” said Pamela Calloway, President of the Port Commission.

Alongside this latest west coast growth, Allegiant Air announced earlier this month the planned launch of a new non-stop service between Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington and Orlando Sanford International. The new link is due to commence from May 16, 2012 and will be operated twice weekly using a 166-seat MD-80. The carrier already serves the nearby Peoria Airport and believes the new route will complement this existing flight.

“Our service to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tampa from Peoria has been very successful and the airport has been a great partner for us,” said Andrew Levy. “We are confident that the new service in Bloomington will be a perfect complement to our existing service in the region and that the residents of Central Illinois will appreciate flying non-stop to Orlando.”