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>From the Santa Maria Times,
http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2004/01/06/news/local/news01.txt
Tuesday, January 6, 2004
Last modified Monday, January 5, 2004 11:56 PM PST
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Las Vegas airline eyes S.M.
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By Janene Scully/Staff Writer
Allegiant Air, a low-cost, Las Vegas-based airline, is considering Santa
Maria as a new destination, although company and airport officials are
saying very little about the prospect.
"We're not prepared to announce anything now," said Mark Peterson, vice
president of marketing and sales for Allegiant Air, which has been expanding
its service lately by adding routes.
Allegiant offers non-stop jet service to several Western and Midwest cities
and expects to announce service to another location in the Midwest within
days, Peterson said.
"We've got over 20 cities on the radar in terms of market expansion,"
Peterson said. "We're looking to expand to as many as nine or 10 cities. It
depends how the market develops. The Central Coast is on our radar, although
we have not made any decisions as to starting service."
Late last month, the Santa Maria Public Airport District Board of Directors
approved an airline operating agreement that includes specifics about costs
but has blank spaces for the airline name.
However, that document refers to new non-stop jet service and also promises
financial help to fund a public relations program that touts the Central
Coast communities as "desirable tourist destinations."
The airport district periodically courts various airlines, and Allegiant
officials visited Santa Maria last year.
However, airport officials remained tight-lipped about who may be coming
soon.
"If I tell you and it gets in headlines they're not going to come," Airport
General Manager Gary Rice said late last month, but he couldn't be reached
for comment Monday.
Santa Maria now has one airline serving the community. United Express flies
30-passenger turboprop planes between Los Angeles and Santa Maria six times
a day. An executive at SkyWest Airlines, which provides the local United
Express flight, said his firm has no immediate plans to expand service here.
Santa Maria airport officials also heard a presentation from Scenic Airlines
representatives. Also based in Las Vegas, that airline uses turboprop
aircraft.
Airport officials have been frustrated at the lack of service and have
received a federal grant to help lure a new airline here.
Before the airline starts service in a community, Allegiant's
decision-making process includes visiting airports, learning local costs and
talking to local residents to determine if the community would support the
service.
Allegiant's fleet is made up of MD-83 jets capable of carrying 161 to 165
passengers. Since it uses larger aircraft, the firm typically enters a new
market with a low-frequency plan: one round-trip flight a day, up to five
days a week. The service is aimed at peak travel time to Las Vegas, with
typically no flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The firm has designed itself as a low-fare airline, recently offering a $39
one-way fare between Las Vegas and Fresno.
The privately owned Allegiant began in 1997 in Fresno. Last fall, it moved
much of its headquarters to Las Vegas. With scheduled flights, it serves
communities such as Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, Colo, ; Wichita,
Kan.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Fresno.
Typically, the firm likes to set up in under-served markets.
"We look to a community to partner in our success and be supportive of our
operations," he said.
Scheduled flights and charter operations flying sports teams or presidential
campaigns make up Allegiant's customer base, according to Peterson.
Allegiant was serving different markets with a different type of plane when
a soft economy led the firm to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000. The firm
reorganized and decided to focus on taking people to and from Las Vegas.
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