( 3 Votes )
One of my biggest interests along with sports and politics is aviation, which I can thank my older brother Tommy for. I have taken a great interest in the success of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport (YNG) because I believe it can be a carbon-copy, on a smaller basis, of the very successful Akron-Canton Regional Airport (CAK). For those of you who do not know, CAK has become one of the fastest growing airports in America, due to the success of low-cost carriers AirTran Airways and Frontier Airlines. While those two airlines are household names in the industry, YNG boasts the most profitable airline in the United States right now: Allegiant Air.
Early last August my family flew Allegiant Air from YNG down to Orlando-Sanford International Airport. Although a few of them were a bit skeptical of flying an airline they were not too familiar with, by the time we touched back down in Ohio they all came away impressed with what Allegiant Air had to offer. Not only were the planes nice we flew on, but the convenience of flying out of an airport 20-25 minutes from our house just could not be beat. Our only recommendation to Allegiant Air is this: offer more destinations from YNG to cities such as Las Vegas, Ft. Myer's, or even down into Ft. Lauderdale.
Although the service to Orlando was nice and our plane was packed, not everyone in the Mahoning Valley wants to fly to Orlando each year. There are other destinations in the Sunshine State that would be profitable routes for Allegiant Air too, such as to Southwest Florida where thousands of Valley residents flee to each winter to escape the brutal Ohio winters.
As you can see in the bar graph to the right, Allegiant Air has quietly become a success story at YNG. Since its inception in 2006, traffic has doubled from 13,000 passengers in 2006 to over 26,000 passengers in 2009, a 100% increase over just three years. Despite Youngstown receiving the ranking of the 18th most miserable city in America, let Allegiant Air be a model to other businesses that you can be successful here in the Mahoning Valely. If there are any other airlines, or businesses, out there asking themselves whether it would be profitable to locate in the Mahoning Valley, just look at that chart. If you can come here, offer a quality product at a good price, this area will likely support your business.
In closing, if anyone at Allegiant Air reads this, please consider adding more flights out of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. The people of the Mahoning Valley have bought into the fabulous service you offer this community. There is no doubt in my mind that if you were to offer additional flights/destinations from YNG, this area will support you just as well as we have supported the Orlando service these past three years.
Despite offering just two-flights a week, the prosperity of Allegiant Air at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is quickly becoming one of the "not so talked about" success stories here in the Mahoning Valley.
What say you?
| February 23, 2010
Update: Coincidentally today, Allegiant Air announced they will begin to offer seasonal nonstop jet service between Youngstown and Myrtle Beach beginning on April 22 with fares beginning at $49 one way!One of my biggest interests along with sports and politics is aviation, which I can thank my older brother Tommy for. I have taken a great interest in the success of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport (YNG) because I believe it can be a carbon-copy, on a smaller basis, of the very successful Akron-Canton Regional Airport (CAK). For those of you who do not know, CAK has become one of the fastest growing airports in America, due to the success of low-cost carriers AirTran Airways and Frontier Airlines. While those two airlines are household names in the industry, YNG boasts the most profitable airline in the United States right now: Allegiant Air.
Early last August my family flew Allegiant Air from YNG down to Orlando-Sanford International Airport. Although a few of them were a bit skeptical of flying an airline they were not too familiar with, by the time we touched back down in Ohio they all came away impressed with what Allegiant Air had to offer. Not only were the planes nice we flew on, but the convenience of flying out of an airport 20-25 minutes from our house just could not be beat. Our only recommendation to Allegiant Air is this: offer more destinations from YNG to cities such as Las Vegas, Ft. Myer's, or even down into Ft. Lauderdale.
As you can see in the bar graph to the right, Allegiant Air has quietly become a success story at YNG. Since its inception in 2006, traffic has doubled from 13,000 passengers in 2006 to over 26,000 passengers in 2009, a 100% increase over just three years. Despite Youngstown receiving the ranking of the 18th most miserable city in America, let Allegiant Air be a model to other businesses that you can be successful here in the Mahoning Valely. If there are any other airlines, or businesses, out there asking themselves whether it would be profitable to locate in the Mahoning Valley, just look at that chart. If you can come here, offer a quality product at a good price, this area will likely support your business.
In closing, if anyone at Allegiant Air reads this, please consider adding more flights out of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. The people of the Mahoning Valley have bought into the fabulous service you offer this community. There is no doubt in my mind that if you were to offer additional flights/destinations from YNG, this area will support you just as well as we have supported the Orlando service these past three years.
Despite offering just two-flights a week, the prosperity of Allegiant Air at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is quickly becoming one of the "not so talked about" success stories here in the Mahoning Valley.
What say you?
Speaking of load factors, check this out:
http://flightaware.com/insight/airline_stats.rvt
You can search by city pair for routes, and it gives load info. It is in beta right now, I think they plan to charge for the service eventually.
-Drew