Allegiant Air Gives Chattanooga Airport a Lift

Bolstered by new destinations and some cheaper fares, Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport has made strides in the past year, officials said.

The airport's addition last year of Allegiant Air, which began flying to Orlando, Fla., in October and Tampa Bay, Fla., in December, has energized service, said Mike Landguth, airport president.

"The sixth carrier, which we just added this last year, brings two new destinations," he said. "They have really fueled a lot of this additional growth that we've seen in the past six months or so."

In February, boardings were up 21.2 percent over the same month a year ago, airport figures said. Allegiant flights filled 81 percent of its seats in February. Continental, in the Chattanooga market for a year, filled 78 percent of its seats that month, according to officials.

Growth in American Eagle and US Airways Express service also spurred recent growth, Mr. Landguth said.

The local airport has faced challenges over the years, namely its nearby competition.

"I think Chattanooga airport is doing very well for the position that we occupy geographically," said West Oehmig, chief executive of Tennessee Valley Travel Agency in Chattanooga. "Being between a major airport like Atlanta and a second major airport like in Nashville, we are really doing quite well to have the numbers of flights, and particularly direct ones, to so many markets as we do."

Officials at Chattanooga's airport, whose patrons are 75 percent business travelers, say they are looking to appeal to a new demographic: the leisure traveler, generally more concerned with affordability than efficiency.

The airport aims to retain the business of Chattanooga vacationers, who would be prepared to make the trek to Nashville or Atlanta for cheaper fares.

"A business traveler who has Monday through Friday, if it takes them an extra two to three hours, that's a big deal. Somebody going on vacation for a week to go see grandmama in Boise, Idaho, an extra two to three hours is not the end of the world, especially if there's a couple hundred extra bucks in your pocket," said Jimmy Campbell of Apollo Travel in Chattanooga.

But with new destinations and some lower fares, including round trip fares to Florida under $200, the Chattanooga airport is positioning itself to compete, Mr. Landguth said.

"Adding the Allegiant component, we're getting a lot of people traveling for leisure purposes that are using this facility that we previously had not gotten," he said. "Four people on the first (Allegiant) flight out had never flown in their entire life."

A recent air service plan by Raker Airline & Airport Consulting Inc., suggested the possibility of new direct flights to Newark, N.J., Philadelphia and Detroit, as well as growth in flights to Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C.

"I said if we could get a flight to Newark on Continental, because that's where their hub to Europe is, that would just be fabulous," Mr. Campbell said.

The report presents a "worst-case scenario" projection for 2011, in which three carriers, American, Continental and Northwest, exit the Chattanooga market and cause a drop in total daily flights to an average of 8.7. In the "best-case scenario," daily departures could reach 41.3, with 16 nonstop destinations. Currently, the airport has nonstop service to 10 destinations.

Mr. Landguth said the airport is focusing on pacing itself to ensure that seats on recently-added Allegiant flights are filled.

"Anytime you get new service, you have to make the service accessible. So what we're trying to do is make those two flights become successful first, and when Allegiant identifies that they are successful, that that will provide the opportunity to grow," he said.

"We've got a lot on our plate right now. We're just very thankful that the local community is supporting us."

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