EVANSVILLE, Ind. Bob Whitmer was ecstatichis hard work had paid off.
It was 2011, and he had just shepherded through a runway extension and other improvementsat Owensboros airport in western Kentucky.
Representatives of the low-cost carrier Allegiant were flying into town to tell Whitmer, the airport director, that Owensboro had landed flights to Las Vegas.
This is a dream come true for Owensboro! he gushed in a news release touting the services launch alongside existing flights to the Orlando area.
But six months later,amid prohibitivefuel costs, that dream ended when Allegiant announced it was pulling its Las Vegas route.
As Evansville celebrates the arrival and rapid expansion of Allegiant service, words of caution abound that the routes may be short-lived. Perhaps no entity is more honest about that than Allegiant itself. The airlines rallying cry to the communities it serves: Use it or lose it.
Allegiants pretty agile, said Kristen Schilling-Gonzales, the airlines director of planning. Were monitoring every flight. Were looking at every route we operate on a monthly basis, quarterly basis, even more than that.
Allegiant is unique in that even seemingly successful service sometimes finds itself on the chopping block.
32 COOL AVIATION PICS: Disney- and Dodgers-themed jets, 747s and more(story continues below)
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Westjet’s ‘Frozen’ themed Disney jet departs Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 15, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
Cargo jets for UPS, top, and FedEx, bottom, trade places at Anchorage International Airport on Dec. 3, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
Outfitted for marine surveillance, a Canadian Government Dash-8 departs Vancouver International Airport in December 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
A gaggle of partially completed Boeing KC-46 tankers awaits their fate while parked at Paine Field near Everett, Wash., in December 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
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An Augusta Westland 139 helicopter lands at Vancouver International Airport on Dec 15, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
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An Air Canada Boeing 777-300 departs Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 15, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
Pilots aboard a UPS Boeing 747 don Santa hats as they ready for a flight across the Pacific on Dec. 3, 2016 in Anchorage, Alaska. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
A China Eastern Airbus A330 takes off from Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 15, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
An Air China Boeing 747-400 lands at Anchorage International Airport on Dec. 3, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
A Saudi Arabian Boeing 777-300 delivers from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on Dec. 24, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
The winter holiday travel season was one of the busiest ever in 2016-17. Here crowds pulse through Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Jan. 4, 2017. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAYFullscreen
An unfinished Boeing 747-8 rests outside at Paine Field, near Everett, WA, in December of 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
The Caribbean Sea and Mexico’s Yucatan coastline as seen from American Airlines Flight 886 from Cancun to Charlotte. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAYFullscreen
Jets at one of San Francisco International Airport’s international concourses in October 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
A Centurion Cargo Boeing 747-400 takes off from Anchorage International Airport in December 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
An Emirates Airbus A380 departs for Dubai from San Francisco International Airport on Oct. 23, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
A United Airlines Boeing 777-300 takes off on a delivery flight from Paine Field, near Everett, Wash,, in late December, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
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A Hawaiian Airbus A330 takes off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Dec. 24, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAYFullscreen
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That’s because Allegiant’s low-cost fares are dependent upon its ability to up-sell customers on everything from seat selection to hotel rooms. Jets full of frugal passengers who paid for their flights, but nothing else, end up costing the airline money.
In regulatory filings, the company said it averages expenses ofabout $100 per passenger per flight, or $200 round trip. As an airline that routinely offers round trip fares as low as $100 on flights, Allegiant needs to sell customers rental cars and tickets to events to make those routes profitable.
If you took just our airfares alone, that doesnt cover our costs. Thats honest, Schilling-Gonzales said. So we do offer ancillary products as a way to let customers customize their vacations.
Et tu, Allegiant?
Few airlines tweak their route maps as frequently as Allegiant. While legacy carriers, such as American, Delta and United, are more apt to play the long game when it comes to allowing new routes to perform, Allegiant opts for a different approach.
Take Owensboro. At one point, Allegiant flew four round-trip flights per week between Orlando and Owensboro, as well as the twice-weekly Las Vegas flight.
“We were very elated that we had non-stop flights to two of the most popular vacation destinations in the United States,” Whitmer said. “It was a very attractive offering we had at our airport. We were extremely pleased.”
Today, Allegiant only flies twice-weekly Orlando flights.
While Allegiant still serves Owensboro, there are plenty of other airports including Casper, Wyo.; Akron-Canton, Ohio; and Youngstown-Warren, Ohio, where Allegiant has departed completely.
When Allegiant left Casper, “they never issued a news release,” Airport Director GlennJanuska said. “They took the service out of the schedule, and I think the only way people would have known that the service was going to be discontinued was they went to book a flight and noticed, ‘Hey, wait a minute. Casper isn’t there anymore.'”
A similar situation happened at Akron-Canton, where Allegiant also abruptly pulled its flights.
Marketing Director Lisa Dalpiazsaid Akron-Canton was “disappointed in Allegiant’s decision.”
At Youngstown-Warren, which lies between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Allegiant in its trademark honesty “told us, straight up, we can make more money at the larger airports,” Aviation DirectorDan Dickten said.
IN PICTURES: 30 cool aviation photos(story continues below)
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With iconic Mount Rainier forming a dramatic backdrop, a Virgin America Airbus A320 lands at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in September of 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
The soft yellowish-gold glow of Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport ceiling greets visitors arriving to the nation’s capitol in May of 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
“Star Wars” characters R2-D2 and C-3P0 pose with All Nippon Airways’ R2-D2-themed Boeing 787-9 at a ceremony in Everett, Wash., on Sept. 12, 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
C-3PO and R2-D2 pass by the engine of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner while welcoming a Star Wars-themed jet to ANA’s fleet on Sept. 12, 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A brand-new Cargolux Boeing 747-8 cargo jet takes off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on Sept. 13, 2015, for a test flight. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A rare Boeing 727, operating a charter for a Major League Baseball team, takes off from Boeing Field in Seattle in September of 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-300 taxis to the gate on a rainy afternoon in December 2014. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Heading out for a test flight, an Avianca Cargo Airbus A330 Freighter is towed to position via a tug at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, in December 2014. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
With its distinctive architecture, Doha’s Hamad International Airport is abuzz with activity despite the 3 a.m. local hour in December of 2014. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
An Emirates Airbus A380 superjumbo taxis to the gate after landing in Houston in December 2014. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
An American Airlines Boeing 737-800 departs Phoenix Sky Harbor in January of 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
Cessnas trade places on a taxiway at Paine Field in Everett, Wash., in February of 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
F-18 Growler fighter jets practice carrier landings at a remote landing strip on Whidbey Island in Washington State in March of 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
ANA’s R2-D2-themed Boeing 787 Dreamliner after it emerged from a Boeing hangar in Everett, Wash., on Sept. 12, 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
The unfinished nose of a 777-300, seen during a tour of Boeing’swidebody jet factory inEverett, Wash., onJune 1, 2015. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAYFullscreen
