Allegiant to drop two months of flights from schedule

By Karl Henkel

khenkel@vindy.com

VIENNA

Vacationers heading to sunny Orlando via Allegiant Air on Aug. 11 have two options when it comes to possible return dates: Aug. 14 or Oct. 13.

The Nevada-based airline, which flies to three Southern locations from Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, is implementing a surprisingly early seasonal discontinuation to two of those destinations, including Orlando-Sanford International Airport. That puts some travelers in a bind.

“People definitely go down there through Labor Day,” said Vicki Stankewich, owner of Howland Travel, 5200 E. Market St. in Howland. “There’s definitely a draw for people who want to get away.”

Allegiant spokewoman Jordan McGee gave many reasons for the changes, including skyrocketing fuel prices and saving money by parking planes.

McGee said the airline micromanages its schedule closely and that despite Youngstown-Warren’s near-97-percent capacity rates on flights, other factors play into its decision for scheduling changes.

“Sometimes the planes are used in a bigger market,” she said. “Even though capacity is high, that’s not the only factor that plays into seasonal discontinuation.”

Dan Dickten, director of aviation at Youngstown-Warren, said he tried to get the airline to keep the flights during the busy travel season.

“Your load factors are somewhere in the 92 percent range, and mine are at 97,” he said he told the airline. “I was certainly trying to keep [this] from happening, but with high fuel prices, I don’t see any help there this year.”

The six-week break on flights to and from Orlando-Sanford and Myrtle Beach, S.C., which begins Aug. 14, startles some in the local travel industry, such as Stankewich.

Stankewich said Allegiant has always taken a six-week to two-month hiatus in the fall for flights to Orlando-Sanford, but never this early in the year.

McGee said flights last August showed a decrease in fliers.

“Not significantly,” she said of the variance. “Not a lot, but it played into that [decision].”

The decision has left Stankewich perplexed.

“We have a lot of clients that go to Florida who like to go down in September after the rush.”

One flight that will continue uninterrupted throughout the fall is to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, a flight first introduced last year.

St. Petersburg-Clearwater and Orlando-Sanford are separated by approximately 125 miles.