Located around 30 kilometres south-east of Phoenix, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona has seen traffic boom since Allegiant decided to make the airport a focus city and began jet operations from the airport in October 2007. Since then, the airline has launched over 30 routes and seen passenger numbers grow from 357,000 in 2008 to 957,000 in 2011, with traffic growing by 19% during the last year.
Source: Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
In the last two years, the airport has seen a triple-peak with passenger number highs in March, July and December. In March of this year, the airport handled over 100,000 passengers in a month for the first time in its history. This year should see the airport easily pass the one million mark for annual passengers.
Last week saw the launch of a new Allegiant service to Oakland in California, which will operate daily (except Tuesday), bringing to 29 the number of active routes with two further seasonal routes (Medford and Redmond/Bend) scheduled to re-start on 17 May. The airline’s only daily route (to Las Vegas) began last November.
| Destination (code) | Launch date | Weekly frequency (days of week) |
|---|---|---|
| Appleton/Green Bay, WI (ATW) | 10 November 2011 | 2 (47) |
| Bellingham, WA (BLI) | 27 October 2007 | 4 (2467) |
| Billings, MT (BIL) | 16 November 2007 | 2 (47) |
| Bismarck, ND (BIS) | 18 October 2008 | 4 (1356) |
| Bozeman, MT (BZN) | 12 November 2010 | 2 (15) |
| Cedar Rapids, IA (CID) | 25 October 2007 | 3 (135) |
| Colorado Springs, CO (COS) | 15 September 2010 | 2 (47) |
| Duluth, MN (DLH) | 21 October 2011 | 2 (15) |
| Eugene, OR (EUG) | 16 October 2008 | 2 (47) |
| Fargo, ND (FAR) | 15 November 2007 | 4 (1356) |
| Fort Collins/Loveland, CO (FNL) | 8 October 2010 | 2 (15) |
| Grand Forks, ND (GFK) | 13 November 2009 | 2 (47) |
| Grand Island, NE (GRI) | 14 October 2009 | 2 (47) |
| Grand Rapids, MI (GRR) | 14 October 2009 | 2 (15) |
| Great Falls, MT (GTF) | 23 October 2008 | 3 (135) |
| Idaho Falls, ID (IDA) | 12 November 2010 | 2 (47) |
| Las Vegas, NV (LAS) | 17 November 2011 | 12 (113445556777) |
| Medford, OR (MFR) | 24 October 2008 | re-starts 17 May |
| Minot, ND (MOT) | 3 March 2011 | 2 (47) |
| Missoula, MT (MSO) | 25 October 2007 | 2 (15) |
| Moline, IL (MLI) | 18 November 2010 | 2 (47) |
| Oakland / Bay Area, CA (OAK) | 18 January 2012 | 6 (134567) |
| Pasco, WA (PSC) | 19 November 2009 | 2 (47) |
| Peoria, IL (PIA) | 27 October 2007 | 2 (15) |
| Rapid City, SD (RAP) | 21 November 2007 | 2 (15) |
| Redmond/Bend, OR (RDM) | 24 October 2008 | re-starts 17 May |
| Rockford, IL (RFD) | 16 November 2007 | 2 (47) |
| Sioux Falls, SD (FSD) | 25 October 2007 | 4 (1356) |
| South Bend, IN (SBN) | 2 June 2010 | 2 (15) |
| Springfield-Branson, MO (SGF) | 22 October 2008 | 2 (47) |
| Wichita, KS (ICT) | 20 November 2009 | 2 (47) |
| Source: Allegiant booking tool for w/c 22 January 2012 | ||
Several of these routes see frequency increases during February and March. For the week beginning 22 January, the airline is operating a total of 82 weekly departures, across 29 routes giving an average weekly frequency per route of less than three. In fact, 21 of the 29 routes operate with just two weekly flights, either Mondays and Fridays, or Thursdays and Sundays.
Very quiet on Tuesdays
As a result of Allegiant focusing its schedule on days when people actually want to fly, the airport’s operations are slightly unusual. On Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, there are currently between 16 and 18 daily departures, with just seven on Wednesday and six on Saturday. That leaves just one flight on Tuesdays (to Bellingham).
Source: Derived from Allegiant booking tool
According to US government statistics in the last 12 months (to end of October 2011), the busiest routes have been to Sioux Falls (27,000 departing passengers), followed by Bellingham (24,000 passengers), and Cedar Rapids and Fargo (each with 23,000 passengers). Not all of Allegiant’s routes have been a success and according to anna.aero’s new route database, services to Sacramento / Stockton (California), Santa Maria (California) and Fayetteville (Arkansas) have failed to deliver the necessary returns to remain part of the airline’s network.
Spirit Airways arriving in February
No doubt to the delight of the airport, it will soon be welcoming a second carrier with the arrival early in February of Spirit Airways which will launch double-daily flights to Las Vegas with its A319s. Towards the end of March, it will also add daily flights to Dallas / Fort Worth.
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