Allegiant Tickets

The response to Allegiant Air at Worcester Airport has so far been great. We need to keep this up and improve. With Hooters Air almost gone, we need to prove to Allegiant, through 90-100% loads, that they are working well in Worcester. Hopefully, when Allegiant has more capacity they will consider Worcester for expansion.

If anyone has booked, is booking, or is thinking about booking an Allegiant ticket, please leave a comment so Allegiant's support can be seen better visually. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask it in a comment, or e-mail me at Alaber91@aol.com.

www.AllegiantAir.com

Secondary Airports

I simply do not see a flight to a popular leisure destination with one, two, or even three stops being successful. Leisure travelers want to get to there vacation fast, and are not willing to spend a whole day on planes and in airports. Business travelers are certainly not going to want to fly into a secondary airport from Worcester. For example, no one is going to fly into Gary, IN for Chicago. When ORH had non-stop service on American Eagle to Chicago (ORD), the planes didn't fill enough to maintain the flight. NON-STOP service to popular leisure4 destinations is the only type of commercial service that will work in Worcester for the forseeable future.

However, secondary airports like Worcester, Gary, and Youngstown should work together to get their message across to airlines. The vacation carriers need to know that these airports will bring profits if they give them the chance.

Allegiant Update

YNG forwarded me this article from the Telegram that details the progress of Allegiant. I saw it in the paper when I got it, but didn't have time to read it. Looks like Allegiant is indeed off to a great start.


Article starts here:


Nick Kotsopoulos City Hall Notebooknkotsopoulos@telegram.com

WORCESTER-Allegiant Air's service out of Worcester Regional Airport seems to have taken off during its first few months.

Julie A. Jacobson, assistant city manager for economic development and neighborhood services, said the airline's preliminary average load factor was 88 percent for flights out of Worcester and 76 percent for inbound flights.

The difference between the outbound and inbound percentages, she said, is the number of passengers who have flown to the Orlando, Fla., area and have not yet returned from extended winter vacations.

Ms. Jacobson said the airline's average load factor of 82 percent compares favorably to the industrywide average of 78 percent, for the 12-month period that ended in September.

Regarding on-time performance, Worcester Regional's on-time average in the first two months of Allegiant's service was 76.9 percent, while the average at five other major New England airports for January was 75.1 percent.

"Allegiant is exceeding national standards for load factor and meeting regional standards for on-time performance," Ms. Jacobson said.

The Las Vegas-based airline began service between Worcester and Orlando/Sanford, Fla., on Dec. 22. Before that, the last scheduled commercial air flight out of Worcester was in February 2003.

City Manager Michael V. O'Brien said an Allegiant survey of 257 passengers showed that people decided to fly out of Worcester because of ticket price, proximity and easy access to the airport.

He said the airport is drawing passengers not only from the region, but also from southern New Hampshire, Northeastern Connecticut and northern Rhode Island.

"The partnership of Massport, Allegiant and the city of Worcester continues to grown," Mr. O'Brien said. "We need to build on this by continually updating and enhancing our marketing efforts."

He added that customer surveys show the top two destinations that should be sought for additional service are Las Vegas and the West Coast. Other favored destinations are Tampa, Washington, D.C., New York City and Fort Meyers, Fla.

Q/A about Flight

Check out YNG's (Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport) blog @ www.yngair.blogspot.com.

YNG interviewed me about my trip to Orlando, in which I used Allegiant Air. The importance of communication and team work between secondary airports (like YNG and ORH) is vital for their success in the long run.

Keep an Eye on Pan-Am

According to EmergingAirlines.blogspot.com article about Pan-Am (Boston-Maine Airways Corporation), they are planning to expand. They are awaiting court approval to purchase additional aircraft, including 4 727's and more J31's.

Emerging Airlines pointed out that they are also planning on growing their J31 fleet that currently has service between Portsmouth Pease, Bedford Hanscom, and Trenton, NJ. Pan Am is planning on starting service between Washington D.C. and serveral "under-the-radar airports" throughout New England. I definetly think that Worcester could be classified as one of these "under-the-radar airports."

We should keep an eye on Pan-Am and if they receive approval to purchase the additional aircraft. I don't think they should be at the top of our list, but they are definetly worth a shot.