Allegiant adds 44 new routes, 3 new cities in blockbuster expansion

19.11.2024 - 13:51 / thepointsguy.com

Allegiant announced a blockbuster expansion Tuesday, rolling out 44 new routes and three entirely new destinations.

The first of the new tranche of flights will begin in February, and Allegiant is offering introductory fares ranging from $39 to $79 on all the new routes, though they're only available through Nov. 20 and for travel through July 25.

As for the three new airports joining Allegiant's route map, one is a little-known facility that might force even the staunchest AvGeeks to dust off their list of airport codes.

First, the better-known airports joining Allegiant's network: Colorado Springs International Airport (COS) and South Carolina's Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE).

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The lesser-known pin being added is Alabama's Gulf Shores International Airport (GUF). Service begins in May with a whopping six new routes from the airport, which sits in the eponymously named town along Alabama's short coastline.

Gulf Shores may not be well known outside the region, but it sits along Alabama's Gulf Coast – just 10 miles from the border with Florida. The Florida Panhandle region includes a slew of popular beach resorts from Pensacola in the west (and just about 50 miles from GUF) to Destin, Panama City and Fort Walton Beach further to the east.

When flights begin, Allegiant would be the only airline offering service from the airport. This summer, in anticipation of possible service, GUF began exploring options to build a temporary passenger terminal to accommodate the commercial passengers that will come with the new service, according to local media reports.

Allegiant likely hopes Gulf Shores will allow it to establish a base along the increasingly popular Gulf Coast beach region of Florida and Alabama with minimal competition. All other airlines to the region fly to established airports elsewhere in Florida or in nearby Mobile, Alabama, about 50 miles from Gulf Shores. While Allegiant also flies to some of those other Gulf Coast destinations, it would have GUF all to itself based on current schedules.

That mimics a strategy Allegiant has employed elsewhere around the country. Adding flights at airports like Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (USA) near Charlotte and Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) near Fort Myers, Florida, has allowed Allegiant to expand into bigger, competitive markets without going head to head with other carriers at hubs or other established airports. PGD has been one of the big successes of this strategy, growing into one of Allegiant's busiest bases — though that success encouraged rival Sun Country to add service there too (though just on a single seasonal route).

Overall, this expansion will give Allegiant a total of 51