New Allegiant flights scheduled to take off at CVG in May

Allegiant Air is rapidly adding flights at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, more than doubling service to vacation destinations less than a month after coming to town.

The discount airline announced Tuesday it plans to offer two nonstop flights a week to both Myrtle Beach, S.C., and the Tampa, Fla., region. Allegiant also plans to double its nonstop flights to the Fort Myers, Fla., region to four a week.

The Myrtle Beach and Tampa Bay flights will be seasonal, starting in May and ending in August. Allegiant is offering an introductory, one-way discount fare of $59 to Myrtle Beach and Tampa Bay. Seats must be booked on Allegiant.com, and the offer ends March 11.

The Las Vegas-based vacation airline debuted at CVG in February with two flights a week to both Orlando, Fla., and the Fort Myers region.

Cincinnati is the fastest-growing non-vacation site in Allegiant's 15-year history. The airline's expansion also could be another indication that local fliers are supporting low-cost service at CVG after the years-long cuts by the dominant carrier, Delta Air Lines.

"If we had not seen strong demand on those routes, we definitely would have thought twice about adding two more destinations," Allegiant Air spokeswoman Jessica Wheeler said. "People are really excited to have a low-cost option at an airport that has traditionally seen some very high fares."

Allegiant Air is most likely done growing at CVG for the immediate future. It's unlikely the airline will start flights to Las Vegas – the airline's hub – despite its being one of eight U.S. cities CVG officials identified last year for adding more nonstop service. A majority of respondents to a Cincinnati.com poll also said they desired more flights to Las Vegas than any of the other cities. Tampa and Orlando also were among the eight cities.

Allegiant typically does not offer flights to Las Vegas from eastern cities. The airline flies to Las Vegas from only one city east of Ohio, Plattsburgh, N.Y. Allegiant is known for dirt-cheap fares and charging a la carte for amenities – and for doing business with tight pursestrings.

"The economics are a little tricky there," Wheeler said. "In the past, we haven't seen tremendous success on making that (Las Vegas flight) work. We do have some different aircraft coming online that have different fuel economy, so it's always a possibility." ⬛

New nonstops

• Tampa Bay

(St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport): Thursday and Sunday, beginning May 15 and ending Aug. 10.

• Myrtle Beach:

Monday and Friday, beginning May 30 and ending Aug. 11.

• Fort Myers

(Punta Gorda Airport): Flights double to four per week – Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday – beginning May 1.