No commitment from Allegiant Air to come to Savannah
Low-cost carrier Allegiant Air announced Thursday it will offer more flights to Myrtle Beach.
Could Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport be next?
Airport officials have talked with Allegiant about adding flights from Savannah to cities in Ohio, Pennsylvania and upstate New York.
But nothing has been decided, spokeswoman Lori Lynah said Friday, adding the airport has similar discussions with several airlines each year.
"We've had ongoing talks to add direct service for quite a while," Lynah said. "We'd love to make something happen by the end of the year, but so far we have no indication either way."
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Friday that Allegiant was considering adding a flight from Savannah to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. This comes after Allegiant announced Thursday it will add more seasonal flights from Cincinnati to Myrtle Beach, where it started offering service in 2014. The Las Vegas-based airliner specializes in direct flights to vacation destinations.
A spokesman for Allegiant downplayed the discussions in an email Friday.
"We are always in talks with a number of airports about potential new service and routes; however, Allegiant has no immediate plans to serve Cincinnati from Savannah," spokesman Justin Ralenkotter said.
There are no existing direct flights to Savannah-Hilton Head from any commercial airports in Ohio. Allegiant Air briefly offered nonstop flights between Savannah and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but the airline ended the service in 2011 because of a lack of demand.
Adding flights to the Hilton Head area, a popular vacation spot for Ohio residents, "makes sense," Lynah said.
"We know people out there want it," she said. "We hear it online, see it in the comments, when we go to luncheons."
The airport is in a good position to make its case.
Last year's addition of discount carrier JetBlue Airways, providing service to New York City and Boston, has been an overwhelming success, Lynah said.
The airport's ticket prices fell 13.7 percent during the second quarter of 2014 -- the sharpest decline in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Meanwhile, departing-passenger numbers were up 17 percent in 2014 over the previous year, according to airport statistics.
"It's nice to have the ammunition to say, 'Look, our market can support this type of (low-cost) service,'" she said.
Follow reporter Dan Burley on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Dan.
Related content:
- Passenger numbers up at Savannah/Hilton Head airport , Jan. 15, 2015
- Ticket prices drop 13 percent at Savannah-Hilton Head airport , Nov. 11, 2014
This story was originally published January 16, 2015 at 2:18 PM with the headline "No commitment from Allegiant Air to come to Savannah."