Tri-State Airport adds direct flight to Tampa area
10/24/2007
By JEAN TARBETT HARDIMAN
HUNTINGTON — Allegiant Air has a new direct flight from Tri-State Airport to the Tampa, Fla., area, the third low-fare destination that Allegiant has brought to the airport since November 2006.
The flight will be offered Tuesdays and Saturdays to the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, beginning Feb. 9, 2008. A special introductory fare will be $59 each way.
Direct Allegiant flights from Tri-State Airport to Ft. Lauderdale were recently announced and begin Nov. 16. They will operate Mondays and Fridays.
The carrier has been offering flights to Orlando, Fla., since Thanksgiving last year, and Allegiant’s first year at Tri-State Airport has been marked by a notable increase in business.
“We were confident that Allegiant’s brand of low-cost, nonstop jet service would do well in our community, but it has exceeded our expectations,” airport Director Larry Salyers said in a prepared statement from Allegiant Air. “We have been overwhelmed with requests for more service to sunny destinations and we’re thrilled to now have convenient and affordable flights to the Tampa Bay area.”
Boardings through the first eight months of this year surpassed the number of boardings for all of 2006, according to data released by the airport.
From January through August, 41,502 passengers boarded planes at the airport. In all of 2006, 39,412 passengers flew out of Tri-State.
September 2007 numbers added nearly another 5,000 boardings.
Delta and U.S. Air also have flights out of Tri-State, but airport officials credited low-cost Allegiant for most of the increase. As of September, the airline had sold approximately 95 percent of its available seats since it began service at Tri-State in November 2006.
Tampa is a great fit for the airport because records indicated last year that Tampa was the second most common destination for passengers who flew out of Tri-State, second only to Orlando, said Beckie McKinely, marketing director for the airport.
Passengers were getting there through an indirect route, but now can get there via nonstop jet service.
