Allegiant to expand with service to Palm Springs | Recordnet.com

Allegiant to expand with service to Palm Springs | Recordnet.com


Allegiant to expand with service to Palm Springs
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By Reed Fujii
Record Staff Writer
August 17, 2011 9:45 AM
STOCKTON - Stockton Metropolitan Airport is getting a new destination: Palm Springs.

Beginning Oct. 28, Allegiant Airlines will offer two-day-a-week service between Stockton and the desert resort, airline and airport officials announced Tuesday morning.

Allegiant began serving Stockton with three flights a week to Las Vegas in June 2006.

John Fenyes, Allegiant sales director, said the regional market currently supports 10 flights a week to Las Vegas, and he expects to see the same type of growth for Palm Springs.

"We feel this market is going to work very well for us," he said during a news conference in the Stockton Metro terminal.

Currently, Allegiant connects the California desert resort only with Bellingham, Wash.

"Palm Springs is a market we've been looking to build," Fenyes said. And, he predicted, "The Central California demographic will work for Palm Springs."

Allegiant has tried other destinations in the past. It flew between Stockton and Long Beach for nearly six months last year before terminating the service in December, citing "lack of market demand."

Fenyes suggested Palm Springs would be more attractive as a travel destination for Allegiant customers.

"We are a leisure airline," he said.

From late 2007 to mid-2008, Allegiant also flew between Stockton and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona, but dropped that service when it trimmed back a number of flights at a time of sharply rising fuel costs.

San Joaquin County Supervisor Carlos Villapudua, whose district includes the county-owned airport, said losing Long Beach service was no major setback.

"We didn't stop there," he said Tuesday. "We continued to ... move forward. I guarantee that there's going to be a lot of people interested in (Palm Springs)."

Verlyn Wolfe, chairman of the county's Aviation Advisory Committee, agreed.

"I believe it's going to be a boon for us," he said.

And there were suggestions Allegiant could bring additional new services to Stockton. Hawaii, which the Las Vegas-based airline plans to add to its list of destinations, is among the possibilities.

"We'll hopefully get additional routes that are being discussed behind the scenes," Wolfe said.

Fenyes, in talking about Palm Springs flights, said much the same.

"We're certain that this will grow and I will be back here in the very near future to announce additional services," he said.

Palm Springs flights are scheduled to operate on Mondays, leaving Stockton at 10:15 a.m. and arriving in Palm Springs at 11:30 a.m., with a flight leaving Palm Springs at 12:15 p.m. and landing in Stockton at 1:35 p.m. On Fridays, flights depart Stockton at 4:10 p.m. and arrive in Palm Springs at 5:25 p.m.; and flights leave Palm Springs at 6:10 p.m. and arrive in Stockton at 7:30 p.m.

Full-size, 150-seat MD-80 jet aircraft will serve the route.

As an introductory promotion, Allegiant is offering a $39.99 one-way base fare on tickets purchased by Sept. 5 and valid for travel between Oct. 28 and Feb. 14. Higher prices will apply during holiday weeks.

Additional taxes and fees will apply to all tickets, including a convenience fee of $16.99 per traveler for booking through the company's website at www.allegiant.com or through its telephone reservation center at (702) 505-8888. Telephone reservations carry an additional $14.99 per segment per passenger booking fee.

Convenience fees can be avoided by purchasing tickets at Allegiant airport reservation counters, which are open for 30 minutes after scheduled flight departures.

Contact reporter Reed Fujii at (209) 546-8253 or rfujii@recordnet.com.