June 26, 2006

Allegiant to Vegas

It will not happen. Why?? I have been explained this by people who know this better then me, but here goes. The Allegiant fleet consists of older planes and in order for them to reach Vegas from Worcester (or any of the cities from the NorthEast), they would not be able to sell all the seats since the load capactity after the fuel needed to reach Vegas would be too much.

Those who know this better then me, please do not laugh too hard. If you (Paxton, etc) think I am wrong then ask yourself why they are not flyiny from any of their Northeast locations to Vegas? Maybe after the IPO when they are flush with cash, they will be able to upgrade their fleet??

In the short-term there is no way in hell Allegiant will be flying to Vegas from ORH. Worcester should start with working ST Petes/Fort Myers to make sure we are at the top of the Allegiant list, if they add these destinations.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think you're wrong Bill. I was genuinely pleading ignorance on the status of their fleet. I've spoken with many elected officials off the record about ORH to Vegas flights and most of them had a confused look on their faces as if to say 'why would we want to go there?'.

You're the first person to tell me we actually can't get there from here. I appreciate the info.

Anonymous said...

well it's sort of a stretch...they might be able to just barely make it to Vegas...but with their old fleet and small planes...i doubt it too

Anonymous said...

Allegiant's fleet will not be able to make it to Vegas, this is a fact. The MD-80 class aircraft simply lack the range necessary to make it such a distance. Vegas is a very difficult location to fly into with small aircraft that plan on travelling a long range. Why? because it is HOT! Heat severely hinders aircraft performance in several ways. One, engines dont burn hot air as efficiently as cooler air, two, hot air is less dense requireing a longer takeoff roll at full power to build the required lift to become airborne. What does this all mean...more fuel is spent simply trying to get in the air. Airlines like jetBlue with their 150 seat A320 commonly trade seats for fuel during hot days in Vegas for the long flight to Boston/JFK. jetBlue has to do this even though the A320 has a fairly significant range advantage over the MD80 series.

Matt

Anonymous said...

http://www.worcestermag.com/archives/2006/06-29-06/slants-rants_letters.html

Big winners

This is an open letter to Allegiant Airlines, the Worcester Area Chamber of Commerce, the Picknelly family and the Worcester City Council.

To Allegiant Airlines: Thank you for giving our airport an opportunity to be serviced by your airline.

To the Picknelly family: Thank you for seeing the opportunities available in downtown Worcester by your involvement in new hotel development, and also servicing Worcester with your Peter Pan bus lines and eventually occupying the new bus port at Union Station.

To the Worcester City Council and Chamber of Commerce: Please continue partnering and working with such visionaries as Allegiant and the Picknellys.

One overlooked area that could benefit ALL of the participants mentioned is the possibility of using Allegiant Airlines as Worcester County’s gateway to the West. If Allegiant were to offer ORH to LAS (Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport) direct flights, this would open up an opportunity for Worcester County travelers to have access to more than 40 airlines for connecting flights throughout the world, not to mention the Las Vegas (direct) travelers alone. With Allegiant’s Orlando/Worcester flights averaging approximately 80% loads, the Las Vegas flights could potentially be closer to 100% loads on a consistent basis. This could also benefit the reverse commute as well — Las Vegas to Worcester. With so many Las Vegas residents employed by casinos, it would allow them the opportunity to also visit casinos — albeit in Connecticut — and they could stay for a fraction of the price than staying on the casino properties by staying in Worcester County area hotels/motels and utilizing the Picknelly family’s bus services for day trips to the Connecticut casinos in addition to ANY New England destination, right from Worcester via the bus/train service that will be offered at Union Station.

These travelers would be able to get to any destination in New England from one central location: Worcester. Cape Cod, Boston, skiing, fall foliage, New England colleges, etc., would all be available to Las Vegas residents. The Connecticut casinos do a tremendous volume of business from Worcester County residents. Just imagine the possibility of that same gaming market having access to Las Vegas; the demand would be absolutely incredible. Aviation buffs remember Pan American World Airways made history with their “Clipper” flights, which gave them worldwide recognition as the pioneer in international flights. Allegiant could stand to make history with the ORH to LAS route, being the “Casino Clipper” route unifying Las Vegas with Foxwoods/ Mohegan Sun. The biggest winners? Allegiant, the Picknelly family, local hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and city coffers.

Harry Tembenis
Worcester, MA