Allegiant Cuts Flights From Tri-Cities to Fort Lauderdale

By Mac McLean
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: July 19, 2008

Rising fuel costs are being blamed for the cancellation of a popular Tri-Cities Regional Airport flight.

Allegiant Air announced Friday afternoon it would stop service between Tri-Cities and Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Sept. 5.

Allegiant spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said the price of jet fuel – which has almost doubled over the past year – has made service between the two cities no longer profitable although its planes have consistently been full.

“Full flights are only one part of the equation,” Squyres said during a Friday telephone interview. “The cost of doing business has gone up dramatically. It’s a very expensive proposition to continue to fly flights that are not profitable.”

Allegiant started offering direct flights from the Tri-Cities to Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 12. Cost was as little as $98 for a one-way ticket, including any applicable fees, and travelled between the two cities with one arrival and one departure on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Airport Marketing Director Melissa Thomas said Friday the flights were designed to carry leisure travellers, or people who vacationed in Florida. Airport staff marketed the flights with pink flamingos and reminded customers that Fort Lauderdale is the world’s third-busiest cruise port.

“It’s one of our highest loads,” Thomas said, adding last month’s flights to Fort Lauderdale were 94.4 percent full, or had sold on average 123 of the available 130 seats. “Any destination in Florida is popular for our passengers.”

Squyres confirmed the high passenger numbers and the use by leisure customers, which was one of the problems.

“Someone going on vacation is only going to pay a certain amount [for their ticket],” she said, adding the lack of flexibility with ticket prices kept the airline from covering its increased costs. “The last flights have been very full but that doesn’t mean they were profitable.”

Thomas said she was not surprised when she heard Allegiant’s reasons for cancelling the Fort Lauderdale service. Other airlines are having problems with rising fuel costs at a time when the nation’s economic downturn is causing people to rethink travel plans, which will affect the airport’s business, she said.

“As the carriers are struggling to handle fuel costs, we anticipate our [passenger] numbers are going to decrease,” Thomas said.

She predicted a drop in the airport’s passenger numbers for both this quarter and the year, though no calculations have yet been done.

Allegiant also announced plans on Friday to cancel its flights connecting Fort Lauderdale with Allentown, Pa., Chattanooga, Tenn., Greensboro, N.C., and Huntington, W.Va.

It will continue offering flights to Fort Lauderdale from Greeneville, S.C., Knoxville, Tenn., and Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Allegiant will also continue offering service from the Tri-Cities to Orlando-Sanford International Airport. Thomas said the flight, which travels on Thursdays and Sundays, is also popular.

“We’re keeping Sanford,” she said. “That’s a good thing.”

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