Allegiant Air Defies Florida Overcapacity Fears with 8 New Routes

Skift Take

The low-cost airline is hoping that its unusual business model will help it dodge intense competition for flights to the Sunshine State.

Gordon Smith

Allegiant Air is ramping up its presence in Florida this winter. The low-cost airline announced on Tuesday that it will fly eight new nonstop routes linking a total of 13 cities along the East Coast and Midwest. 

Allegiant’s business model is notable for specializing in connecting smaller cities with major leisure destinations. As well as its hometown of Las Vegas, the Sunshine State has long been a focus for Allegiant.

Florida was one of the biggest winners during the later stages of the pandemic, as many Americans vacationed closer to home. Challenges serving international markets and red-hot bookings led many airlines to plow huge amounts of capacity into the holiday hotspot.

While demand remains broadly strong, an oversupply of flights has resulted in a Floridian fare war between carriers. 

Frontier has previously highlighted Florida and Las Vegas as markets dogged by too much capacity. Speaking in February, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said they had “experienced rapid and disproportionate growth compared to 2019, when demand and capacity were far more balanced.” 

Biffle noted that total U.S. domestic air capacity increased just over 4% since 2019, while total industry capacity in Las Vegas and Orlando grew by a combined 20%. The Denver-based carrier has since pivoted some of its flying program to other areas.

Spirit and JetBlue are among the other big names to have made revisions to their Florida networks in recent months. 

Where is Allegiant Expanding in Florida?

Allegiant is hoping that its distinctive strategy, which sees it fly leisure-heavy routes with little or no direct competition, will be an advantage. All of its new Florida links are due to start in November. They include:

• Savannah, Georgia to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, St. Pete-Clearwater International, and Punta Gorda Airport (Starts Nov. 14-15)
• Grand Rapids, Michigan to Palm Beach International (Starts Nov. 14)
• Cincinnati, Ohio to Melbourne Orlando International (Starts Nov. 15)
• Flint, Michigan to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (Starts Nov. 15)
• Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Sarasota Bradenton International (Starts Nov. 23)

The low-cost airline said the new services “come at a time of high demand, with many travelers being mindful of their spending.” Promotional tickets are priced from $39 one-way for the most basic fare options. 

In a statement, Drew Wells, Allegiant’s chief revenue officer, described the additional routes as “a testament to the success of our existing service in these communities.” He said they were the result of the airline’s network planning team being “responsive to consumer demand” and “constantly looking for opportunities.”

Skift recently spoke to Visit Florida CEO and President Dana Young to learn more about the destination management organization’s strategy to rebalance its visitor mix.