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Airport lands first commercial jet service/Allegiant Air will connect Owensboro to Orlando in February(Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, KY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 11--Mickey Mouse just got a lot closer to Owensboro. Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air LLC announced plans Tuesday to begin non-stop jet service from Owensboro to Orlando on Feb. 18. The airline will offer an introductory fare of $69 each way, John Fenyes, director of sales, told a morning news conference in the lobby of Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport. Tickets can be purchased at that price until Dec. 3, he said. They must be used by April 30. After that, Fenyes said, prices will rise to $89 each way. Dr. Andrew Ward, a member of the airport board, said the arrival of Allegiant's 150-seat jets in February will mark the first commercial jet service to the airport. "It's a momentous occasion," said Airport Director George Smith. Fenyes said the Owensboro-to-Orlando service will feature flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Flights will leave Owensboro at 9:20 a.m. on each of those days and arrive at Orlando Sanford International Airport at 12:20 p.m. Eastern time. Flights leaving Orlando will depart at 7:35 a.m. Eastern time and arrive in Owensboro at 8:40 a.m., Fenyes said. The flights take two hours. "Even the drive to the Evansville airport is an hour," Fenyes said. "We'll have people in Orlando in two." The fact that the Owensboro airport has an 8,000 foot runway and little air traffic helped Allegiant choose Owensboro over other cities in the region. Fenyes said 1.3 million people live within 75 miles of Owensboro -- the area that Allegiant will be targeting with its advertising. "It's wonderful to finally have an airline," said Karen Miller, executive director of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We hope people will come in and spend the night before their flights." Smith said he expects the service to attract people from as far away as Paducah and Princeton, Ind. The Owensboro airport does not charge for parking, creating more savings for passengers. Owensboro has only had commercial air service for six weeks since March 2007 -- and the last flight left town on Jan. 7. Great Lakes Airlines has the contract to serve Owensboro with connector flights to a major hub -- probably St. Louis -- but airline officials have yet to say when service will begin. Smith said Allegiant's service will mean more state and federal dollars for the airport. Planes that carry more than 50 passengers "open avenues for more state and federal dollars for discretionary spending and airport improvements," he said. "We know this is going to be successful," Fenyes said. Usually, he said, Allegiant starts with two flights a week and grows to three. Fenyes said he expects that to happen here. He said Allegiant's fares will reduce costs of traveling to Orlando by 40 percent over current costs on other airlines and the low fares are expected to create 50 percent more demand for travel to Florida from western Kentucky and southern Indiana. Fenyes said Allegiant is "a travel company that happens to own an airline." It offers "complete vacation packages" including round-trip air and three-night hotel stays for as low as $246 a person, he said. Allegiant offers packages at 58 hotels in Orlando and Daytona Beach, Fenyes said. "Not only will these added flights help better meet the travel needs of those living in and around Daviess County, but this new partnership will also provide an economic boost to the region by bringing in more jobs and tourism," U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican who helped secure funding for the airport's runway expansion, said in a prepared statement. "This is great news for the commonwealth," he added. Fenyes said he doesn't know yet how many jobs the airline will create in Owensboro. Smith said the service "fulfills the 10-year dream of bringing a quality point-to-point air carrier service to the airport." Fenyes said the Orlando airport is located midway between Orlando and Daytona Beach, accommodating travelers to either city. Reservations can be made now through the company's Web site at www.allegiantair.com, the airline's reservations center at (702) 505-8888 or through travel agents. Allegiant offers air service from more than 50 smaller cities to such destinations as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. But Owensboro's service will only go to Orlando. The company reported carrying 243,715 passengers in October -- up 14.2 percent from a year earlier. Keith Lawrence, 691-7301, [email protected] To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.messenger-inquirer.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |