Leisure carrier Allegiant Air will establish Grand Rapids, Michigan as its ninth base and launch service from the airport to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in April.
Effective 27 April, the carrier will base two Boeing MD-80 series aircraft in Grand Rapids. On 30 April the airline will inaugurate twice weekly service to Myrtle Beach, taking advantage of fee waivers and marketing assistance from Gerald R. Ford International airport.
The airport will waive Allegiant's landing and apron fees for six months for the Myrtle Beach service, says a spokesman for the airport in Grand Rapids. However, Allegiant did not receive an incentive for maintaining a base at Grand Rapids, he says.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant entered Grand Rapids in February 2009 with flights to Orlando and Tamp Bay, Florida and subsequently added service to Las Vegas, Phoenix-Mesa and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Myrtle Beach will mark Allegiant's sixth destination, and will bring the carrier's operations at Grand Rapids to 34 flights per week.
In addition to Grand Rapids, Allegiant has bases at Washington's Bellingham International airport, Los Angeles International airport, Williams Gateway airport in Mesa, Arizona Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport, Orlando-Sanford International airport, Orlando International airport and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International airport in Florida.
Grand Rapids is also preparing for the launch of new flights by AirTran Airways. The low cost carrier on 4 May plans to launch flights to Orlando International and Baltimore/Washington International airports using a 12-month waiver of landing and apron fees, the airport spokesman says.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
