Allegiant Air is doing what its executives said it would do and “stepping on the gas” with the addition of 34 new nonstop routes and nine special limited routes for the Sturgis Rally in 2021. All of these routes are targeted at leisure customers and will only fly a few times per week.
Allegiant Air is adding 34 new routes
Allegiant’s 34-route expansion includes medium- and short-haul routes across the US. All routes listed below, unless marked otherwise, will operate twice per week :
From Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to:
- Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA), in Bentonville, Arkansas starting from July 2nd
- Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN), in Montana, starting from May 27th
From Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to:
- Norfolk International Airport (ORF), in Virginia, starting from May 28th
- Indianapolis International Airport (IND), in Indiana, starting from May 28th
From Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) to:
- Oakland International Airport (OAK), in California, starting from May 28th
- San Diego International Airport (SAN), in California, beginning June 3rd
From Des Moines International Airport (DSM) to:
- William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), in Houston, Texas, beginning July 1st
- San Diego International Airport (SAN) from July 1st
- Portland International Airport (PDX), in Oregon, from July 1st
From Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) to:
- Asheville Regional Airport (AVL), in North Carolina, from May 27th
- St. Cloud Regional Airport (STC), in Minnesota, from June 6th
- North Central West Virginia Airport (CKB), in Clarksburg, West Virginia, from May 26th
From William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) to:
- Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF), in Missouri, from May 28th
- Blue Grass Airport (LEX), in Lexington, Kentucky, from June 3rd
From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to:
- Indianapolis International Airport (IND) from May 28th
- Omaha Eppley Airfield (OMA), in Nebraska, from June 4th
- Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), in South Dakota, from June 4th
- Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV), in Louisiana, from July 2nd
From Nashville International Airport (BNA) to:
- Albany International Airport (ALB), in New York, from May 14th
- McAllen International Airport (MFE), in Texas, from May 27th
- Portsmouth International Airport (PSM), in New Hampshire, from May 27th
- Boise International Airport (BOI), in Idaho, from May 28th
From Portland International Airport (PDX) to:
- Billings Logan International Airport (BIL), in Montana, from May 7th
- Missoula International Airport (MSO), in Montana, May 7th
- Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from June 4th
From San Diego International Airport (SAN) to;
- Glacier Park International Airport (FCA), in Kalispell, Montana, from May 28th
- Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA), in Arizona, four times per week from May 27th
- Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), in Pasco, Washington, from May 28th
Additional routes include:
- Appleton International Airport (ATW), Wisconsin, to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV), Georgia, from May 28th
- Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (USA), North Carolina, to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), Florida, from May 28th
- Bangor International Airport (BGR), Maine, to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Florida, from May 28th
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) to Key West International Airport (EYW), Florida, from June 9th
- Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT), in Little Rock, Arkansas, to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Florida, from May 27th
All routes will operate either with Airbus A320 or Airbus A319 aircraft. This is the latest route expansion and continues the carrier’s growth after a 21-route announcement in January and a 15-route announcement back in November.
Special routes for Sturgis 2021
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held annually near Rapid City, South Dakota, and is a massive event that hosts hundreds of thousands of people in the early days of August. The rally includes plenty of events, races, shows, contests, and more. Twice-a-week for two weeks, Allegiant Air will add the following select routes to Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) just in time for Sturgis Rally 2021:
- From Appleton International Airport (ATW)
- From Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
- From General Wayne A Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) in Illinois
- From Nashville International Airport (BNA)
- From Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
- From Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR)
- From Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB)
- From McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) in Knoxville, Tennessee
Stepping on the gas
Allegiant Air’s CEO was deliberate on the airline’s fourth-quarter earnings call that now is the time to “step on the gas,” given how it is Allegiant’s time to thrive. He followed up with the following:
“We have the aircraft and sufficient crews to allow us to increase capacity. While we felt we had to reduce staff this year, looking backwards, including laying off some of our crews, I’m happy to report we will be asking these crew members to return to duty shortly. We see excellent opportunities in 2021 and in the follow-on years, we believe those increasing revenue numbers I summarized for the last quarter will carry over into [the first quarter] and beyond.”
For the first quarter of 2021, Allegiant forecasts increasing its capacity, compared to the first quarter of 2019, anywhere between 0.5 and 5.5%. With the airline’s fleet expansion continuing and a plethora of new routes coming, expect the second and third quarters to see bumps in capacity compared to the same period in 2019.
The new routes the airline is launching, none of which are scheduled to fly on a Tuesday, are a testament to the airline’s plan to bring more planes into active service and increase capacity targeted at the bulk of travelers willing to fly right now.
Will you fly any of these new Allegiant Air routes? Let us know in the comments!
