Flight schedules in flux in Springfield, Branson

Change is in the air at the Springfield and Branson airports, and while the operations follow different business models, they parallel each other in their recent alterations.

Both airports have made changes related to service to Orlando, Fla., and both also have announced impending destination cuts.

Happenings in Orlando

Allegiant announced Dec. 1 that flights from Springfield to the central Florida vacation destination will arrive in Orlando International Airport (MCO), the state's busiest airport, beginning Feb. 15. Currently, flights to and from Orlando go into Orlando-Sanford International Airport (SFB), nearly 30 miles northeast of Orlando.

The new destination, which Allegiant is testing with 10 of its flying locations, cuts in half the travel time to most of Orlando's biggest attractions, including Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld.

Allegiant Air Vice President of Planning Robert Ashcroft said the decision to move was based on both convenience and competition. He said that when Allegiant first began flying to Orlando in 2005, the company was smaller and "fragile."

"Sanford is a cheaper airport, and we thought it would induce less competitive response to fly there," Ashcroft said.

Last year, 35.7 million people traveled through Orlando International, compared to 1.8 million at Sanford.

But now that Allegiant is better established - and now that competitor AirTran has started flying into Orlando's larger airport from many of Allegiant's other destinations - Ashcroft said it was time to make the move.

Flight frequency between Springfield and Orlando will remain the same; flights will travel between the two facilities on Monday and Friday initially, though airport spokesman Kent Boyd said those schedules fluctuate seasonally.

AirTran's decision to provide service to Orlando is impacting the Branson Airport. Airport Director Jeff Bourk said the airline will begin offering a once-weekly flight to Orlando later this month.

Bourk also said that even though the flight to Orlando is once a week, Branson passengers can get to any of more than 50 destinations through the airline's daily flight between Branson and Atlanta.

A step back

The Springfield airport announced Dec. 1 that Delta Airlines is dropping its service from Springfield to Minneapolis effective Dec. 14.

The airline dropped the service temporarily in the summer but resumed flights based on strong advanced fall bookings. Poor performance in October and November, however, caused the service to be pulled again. The flight numbers for Delta in October were down 8.6 percent compared to the combined numbers a year ago from Delta and Northwest Airlines, which merged in October 2008; November travel numbers are not yet available.

Boyd attributed the loss of service to continued fallout from the merger of Delta and Northwest, both of which provided service to and from Springfield - but he offered hope for the future.

"If you call a travel agent and ask them to look ahead in the scheduling system, Minneapolis pops back into the system again in May," he said, noting that Delta has likely made the Minneapolis route seasonal - though the airline hasn't confirmed that yet.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed," Boyd said.

The flight schedule also shrank in Branson, where Sun Country Airlines was scheduled to end its flights between Branson and Minneapolis on Dec. 7. Bourk, however, said that decision was planned early on.

"Sun Country is a seasonal service, and it was always intended to be seasonal," Bourk said. "Minneapolis is a very good visitation market for Branson, and those flights operating three times a week from Minneapolis will be back."

Bourk expects the Sun Country flights to resume in the spring.

Springfield on the map

Since launching service in Springfield in 2005, Allegiant has grown to cover five destinations from the Queen City: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Orlando and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.

Ashcroft said he is always considering additional destinations, noting that the company has talked with shareholders about another West Coast stop - and if any new spots show up on the Allegiant map, Springfield is likely near the top of the list, he said.

"Whenever we think of something, Springfield is definitely in our thoughts, because that airport has worked with everything we've tried," Ashcroft said.

He even hinted at international travel, perhaps to a vacation spot in Mexico, though that would bring up the customs issue. Springfield spokesman Boyd said that while there may be space for customs, convincing the federal government to open an office in Springfield would be a hard sell.

"(Customs officials) have said they can't justify what they call the tremendous expense of setting up a full office to serve passengers of one airline flying two or three times a week," Boyd said.

"That's the challenge we face here and the challenge Allegiant, I'm sure, faces in most cities."

Change is also on the horizon in Branson; Bourk said that AirTran will resume a second daily flight to and from Atlanta next spring.

Meanwhile, ExpressJet charter service to and from Shreveport, La., and Rockford, Ill., which began in November to coincide with Branson holiday festivities, will resume next year.

Bourk said that service has been successful, but he declined to disclose specific passenger numbers.[[In-content Ad]]