Allegiant to cancel flights to Fort Lauderdale

HUNTINGTON — Allegiant Air announced Friday that it will end its service to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from five of its airports, including Huntington Tri-State Airport.

It had just begun offering the flight from Tri-State Airport in November of 2007, but it has said that Saturday, Sept. 6, will be its last scheduled flights for Fort Lauderdale service to and from Huntington, as well as Allentown, Penn.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Greensboro, N.C.; and Tri-Cities, Tenn.

From Huntington, Allegiant also offers service to Orlando and St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay  in Florida. Locally, Fort Lauderdale was the least popular of those three destinations, said airport Director Larry Salyers. He added that it must be a similar situation for other airports because Allegiant originally started out offering the Fort  Lauderdale service to 12 airports. After these five are eliminated, it will be down to only three — Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Plattsburgh, N.Y.

With the cost of fuel, it’s likely a business decision that will allow Allegiant to keep the low fares that its passengers enjoy, Salyers said.

“We were doing well in comparison to (most of the others), but I think it’s a case where they’re trying to keep from losing money,” Salyers said. “It’s a business decision.”

He hates to see the service discontinued, but he thinks Allegiant will continue to grow and add alternate destinations in the future.

“We know that Allegiant is looking at other areas and they’re looking for ways to expand,” Salyers said. “Of course with fuel costs, I’m not sure anything will be forthcoming in the near future, but they know that we’re (interested in more destinations from Tri-State Airport).”

Meanwhile, Allegiant’s flights from Huntington to Orlando and the Tampa Bay area are strong, with about a 94 percent occupancy rate, Salyers said. And the airports boarding rates have remained strong amidst a struggling travel industry.

More than 8,500 passengers departed from Tri-State Airport in June, a 41 percent increase from the same time period last year, according to a release from the airport.
For the year, boardings are up 45 percent over the first half of 2007.

Each carrier saw an increase in passengers in June from May, with boardings up by 13 percent at Allegiant Air. U.S. Airways and Delta saw increases of 7 and 2 percent, respectively.

While Fort Lauderdale was the least popular of the Florida flights, Salyers said he is sorry to see it go.

“Any service we have is important, and any loss we have is a blow to us and the customers who use that service,” Salyers said. “Hopefully they’ll find another way they can make money on that operation.”

 Customers with reservations to Fort Lauderdale Sept. 7 and beyond will be contacted directly by Allegiant for other accommodations.