Allegiant adds 5 new routes in boost to Nashville and Florida
Allegiant Air is adding five new routes to its schedule.
The routes — all seasonal — will grow the carrier's presence at its Nashville base by adding three new destinations. Service to Des Moines, Iowa, begins Feb. 13 while flights to Appleton, Wisconsin, and Gulfport, Mississippi, start Feb. 15.
Allegiant's schedule update also includes two new routes to its Florida focus cities.
The airline's large base in Punta Gorda near Fort Myers gets a new nonstop route to Richmond, Virginia, while Sarasota-Bradenton lands nonstop service to Allentown in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
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"We're excited to continue the phenomenal growth of 2019 by adding five new route options to the Allegiant network," Drew Wells, Allegiant's vice president of planning and revenue, said in a statement.
He noted the new routes would come "just in time for spring break and summer vacations."
Allegiant is one of the nation's fast-growing ultra low-cost carriers. Like other ULCCs, Allegiant is known for charging low base fares with fees for nearly everything else beyond boarding the aircraft.
What sets Allegiant apart from its competitors is its business model of offering nonstop flights from small and mid-size markets that would normally lack nonstop service to the leisure-oriented destinations that make up Allegiant's focus cities.
Related: Allegiant Air plans base in booming Nashville
While Allegiant has moved into bigger markets in recent years — including places like Baltimore, Cincinnati and Newark — Allegiant's route map skews heavily toward markets like Minot, North Dakota; Grand Island, Nebraska; Ogdensburg, New York; and Provo, Utah, among others.
A full list of the five new routes Allegiant announced Tuesday is below.
Des Moines, Iowa (DSM): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 13. Seasonal service. Direct competition: None.
Appleton, Wisconsin (ATW): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 13. Seasonal service. Direct competition: None.
Gulfport/Biloxi, Mississippi (GPT): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 15. Seasonal service. Direct competition: None.
Punta Gorda, Florida (PGD)
Richmond, Virginia (RIC): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 13. Seasonal service. Direct competition: None.
Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida (SRQ)
Allentown, Pennsylvania (ABE): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 13. Seasonal service.Direct competition: None.
Related: Allegiant to make Des Moines its latest new aircraft base