Luxury resorts and world-famous amusement parks are now only 90 minutes away with Allegiant Air’s non-stop service to Florida.
By Carter Seaton & Amy Lynch
HQ 65 | SUMMER 2008
The days when Tri-Staters moaned that “they couldn’t get there from here” – meaning they couldn’t catch a direct flight to hardly anywhere – ended in November 2006 when new-kid-on-the-block, Allegiant Air, debuted its non-stop jet service to the Orlando, Florida area. Following a dignitary-filled ribbon-cutting ceremony, a sold-out crowd of 150 passengers, who had paid only $59 one-way, boarded the comfortable MD-80 and 90 minutes later, touched down 50 miles from family destinations at Disney World and Universal Studios. The full-size jet is the largest ever to fly out of Tri-State Airport and the biggest commercial plane currently flying from West Virginia.
Securing Allegiant Air as the area’s newest passenger service took a joint effort. Senator Jay Rockefeller obtained a small Community Air Service Grant of $500,000 to help make it happen while the community pitched in $130,000 in matching and in-kind grants.
Allegiant’s interest in Huntington was part of their overall strategy that utilizes cities like ours: those bypassed so far by the major airlines as well as the larger, better-known discount carriers, like Southwest and Jet Blue. Their niche of ferrying passengers from small town airports like Duluth and Peoria to vacations in Las Vegas, Florida and Arizona remains largely untapped by competitors. That makes it possible for the airline to keep posting profits while much of the industry is losing money, cutting service and contemplating consolidation. Despite the rising cost of jet fuel along with everything else, Allegiant still managed $361 million in sales and posted a $44 million profit last year (2007). That’s a 12 percent profit margin. They did that by flying over 80 percent full at bargain rates.
On launch day, Eric Woodson, Allegiant’s Director of Marketing and Sales, promised that when the original flights were full, they’d be adding more. And they did. By May airline traffic at Tri-State had increased a whopping 73 percent with almost 37,000 people boarding airplanes to one of the destinations offered by Allegiant, Delta Connections and US Airways Express. Allegiant’s all jet non-stop service to Orlando was responsible for 1,200 of April’s passengers, 26 percent of the total for the month. Soon a third flight to Orlando was added and traveling south was possible on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
Tri-State Airport Director Larry Salyers was crowing about the turn-around. “We went through a real down period and we were sort of at the very bottom, he said. “We went to Allegiant and said, ‘Tell us what others are doing and we can do it better and we can do it cheaper.’ So we were successful in getting them. They’ve been a Godsend.”
The airport’s 2007 passenger boardings were up 75 percent over 2006 when Sen. Rockefeller came back to town in June 2007 to announce Allegiant’s newest addition to their flight schedule – round-trip jet service to Ft. Lauderdale. Those flights – adding 600 seats to Tri-State’s weekly load factor – started taking off in November 2007, just in time for Thanksgiving and to catch that wintertime cruise.
Next came St. Petersburg/Clearwater on Florida’s west coast along the Gulf of Mexico – close enough to the sugar-white beaches of Longboat Key, Bradenton, Clearwater and Sarasota.
Unfortunately, rising fuel costs forced Allegiant to suspend its flights to Ft. Lauderdale in September. However, local travelers are hopeful that the flight will return soon.
Today, Allegiant Air offers non-stop jet service out of Huntington’s Tri-State Airport to two Florida airports serving wonderful warm weather getaways with convenient scheduling and ridiculously low prices. Did we mention the prices? Allegiant’s fares – as low as $59 one-way on some flights – are easy to afford and no doubt cheaper than driving with today’s gasoline prices. With those bargains, ads for tropical breezes, fine dining, world-famous amusement parks, golfing, boating, family resorts and beaching are truly a siren’s call.
If this keeps up, Larry Salyers might have a whole new set of problems, but he’s not complaining.
“We are looking forward to more good things that cause parking problems and other problems. But those are great problems to have – something we haven’t had in a long time.”
Allegiant officials aren’t complaining either. Tyri Squires, Director of Corporate Communications says, “From day one, the Tri-State market has exceeded our expectations. We truly appreciate the support the airport management team and the community has shown us for our unique brand of low-fares and convenient access to Florida.”
Saddlebrook Resort
Traveling to Florida from Huntington has never been easier and, with today’s gas prices, more affordable. With destinations including Orlando and Tampa Bay.St. Petersburg, Allegiant Air provides non-stop jet service to what might be a romantic weekend getaway, family trip to Disney or, in my case, a girl’s weekend at the Saddlebrook Resort just outside Tampa.
The Tampa Bay area boasts an array of attractions and accommodations. For my jaunt, I was seeking a little rest and relaxation. The Saddlebrook Resort, located approximately 40 minutes from the St. Petersburg International Airport, provided a multitude of activities for my friend and I to choose from.
The resorts 800 deluxe guest rooms, 75 percent of which are suites, are nestled between two Arnold Palmer 18-hole signature golf courses. If you are looking to shorten your game by a few strokes, the resort is also home to the World Headquarters of the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy.
If golf really isn’t your forte and tennis is, maybe one of the resorts 45 courts in every Grand Slam surface, including grass, will suit you. Or maybe you would just like to sweat it out at the 6,000 square foot fitness complex which includes equipment, basketball court, volleyball courts and sports field. When you’re ready to cool off from all that recreation, an enormous half-million gallon super pool awaits you.
After exhausting yourself playing in the sun, check-in to the resorts European style full-service spa. Your experience can be customized a-la-carte or full and half-day packages are available. And if you find you have worked up an appetite, you can even order something from the spas menu featuring lighter fare options.
No matter if you have spent your day by the pool, at nearby Busch Gardens or putting around the greens, winding down in the evening with a great meal is always a good way to reflect on the day’s activities. If it’s a juicy steak you crave, Dempsey’s Steak House brags that it is “arguably one of the best steak houses in the country.” The restaurant features a mouth-watering bone-in filet mignon, as well as fresh seafood and a tableside Caesar salad.
At Saddlebrook you not only have Dempsey’s Steak House to choose from, but three other restaurants, each with their own distinct flavors. You can even enjoy the Poolside Café while listening to live entertainment while your children are off for the day at the S’kids Club.
