Allegiant Air soars in Springfield market

Allegiant logged more than 31,000 enplanements at Springfield-Branson National Airport in the first 10 months of 2006, and service to its newest vacation destination, Tampa Bay, Fla., starts this month. Enplanements represent the number of passengers departing from the airport.

The low-cost carrier began operations at the airport in April 2005 with direct flights to Las Vegas, where the airline’s fleet of 21 MD-80 jets is based. Seven months later, Allegiant added service to Orlando, Fla., and Dec. 13 will mark the first direct flight to Tampa. One-way fares range from $69 on the low end to more than $200, with standard fares floating between $100 and $150.

“We’ve been there some time now and, obviously, we’ve been pretty happy with the success in the market,” said Allegiant spokeswoman Tyri Squyres. “It has exceeded our expectations on all counts.”

Only Springfield; South Bend, Ind.; Rockford, Ill.; and Lansing, Mich., offer direct flights to Las Vegas, Orlando and Tampa, Squyres said, noting that Allegiant sees a fair amount of “reverse traffic” from Florida to Springfield.

Allegiant will offer two weekly flights from Springfield to Tampa on Wednesdays and Sundays, airport spokesman Kent Boyd said.

While still the fifth most-flown carrier out of Springfield, Allegiant is gaining on No. 4 Delta Connection, which recorded 46,000 enplanements in the first 10 months of 2006 versus 36,000 for the same period last year.

Year-to-date enplanements for American Eagle and Northwest, the airport’s No. 1 and No. 3 carriers, respectively, also are down. American Eagle recorded 127,500 enplanements through October, down from 143,000 the same period last year. And Northwest, which has cut back on flights this year, logged 60,000 enplanements through October this year, compared to almost 80,000 during the same period in 2005.

Small cities, low fares mean big business

Boyd said Allegiant’s growing popularity in the Springfield market is proof that local travelers are “hungry for low-cost fares,” but beyond that, he’s been impressed by the airline’s business model.

Allegiant targets leisure travelers looking for nonstop flights to domestic tourism hotspots. The airline sells tickets directly to customers via its Web site and provides in-flight amenities and services to passengers willing to pay additional fees. The airline charges extra for food, beverages and reserved seats.

Allegiant earned $15.08 per passenger in ancillary revenue – sales not associated with airfare – in the first nine months of 2006. Last year, the airline earned $11.55 per passenger.

Allegiant now serves 48 cities, including more than a dozen in the Midwest, and it recently announced flights from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Orlando and Knoxville, Tenn., to Las Vegas, Squyres said.

More than 50 million people live within 50 miles of the 48 airports served by Allegiant.

The airline also has its eye on at least 52 more cities in the United States and Canada within reach of another 50 million residents, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Going public

Last month, Allegiant Travel Co. – the airline’s parent company – filed a registration statement with the SEC for an initial public offering of its common stock. The IPO would include at least 5 million shares of common stock and could increase to 5.75 million shares if underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full.

Allegiant Travel plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market under ticker symbol “ALGT.”

Merrill Lynch & Co. will act as sole book-running manager for the offering. Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. and Raymond James will act as co-managers.

For the first nine months of 2006, Allegiant reported a $10.3 million profit from $180.2 million in revenue.

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, Allegiant’s revenues were $132.5 million, a 46.6 percent increase over 2004.[[In-content Ad]]