Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air will launch service on 12 new routes later this year, including its first flights to the New York City area.
The ultra low-cost carrier will add Newark Liberty to its network, as well as Ogdensburg (New York) and Denver. Denver will be served on a seasonal basis.
Allegiant's announcement of Newark service is not surprising, given that the carrier had expressed interest in launching flights there after US authorities announced that it would ease slot controls at the airport from 30 October.
Allegiant sees strong leisure and visiting friends and family traffic demand for the Newark flights, the airline's vice-president of network and pricing Lukas Johnson tells Flightglobal.
"We are going to have a good amount of traffic both ways," says Johnson, adding that "very, very high" fares in the New York area will drive demand for Allegiant's low-fare product.
Allegiant will operate out of Newark's terminal B, which is home to mostly foreign carriers.
Ogdensburg, in upstate New York, is across the border from Ottawa. Its location will help attract traffic from Canada, says Johnson.
Despite planning seasonal service to Denver, Johnson says the route is not an experiment for year-round service to the city in Colorado. The seasonal route to Montrose, which will be operated until 25 March 2017, will cater to the ski season traffic.
Allegiant will operate either Boeing MD-80s or Airbus A320 family aircraft on the new routes.
It will compete against United Airlines on six of the new routes, including all four Newark routes, schedules in Innovata show. United operates a hub in Newark.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
