Allegiant Air Upgrades Route from Rapid City to Punta Gorda, Florida

Feb. 17—Just one week after Allegiant Air announced it is adding 10 summer routes to Rapid City Regional Airport, the carrier said Wednesday it will upgrade the flight to and from Punta Gorda, Florida, as a regular route beginning June 4.

The route was originally planned to operate for two weeks in August to coincide with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Drew Wells, Allegiant's senior vice president of revenue, said it proved so popular the airline expanded service for the entire summer. The new route will operate twice weekly.

"There is a lot of pent-up demand for travel to cities that offer a gateway to great outdoor experiences," Wells said. "The addition of two new routes and the expansion of the Punta Gorda- Rapid City route reflects that demand. We expect them all to be popular as visitors continue to seek ways to get outside."

The Punta Gorda route joins a direct route between Rapid City and Los Angeles International Airport beginning June 4.

Rapid City Regional Airport Executive Director Patrick Dame said the upgraded Allegiant routes and a new airline service from Boutique Air providing flights to Chadron, Nebraska, and Denver are great news for the airport.

"This was a very good surprise announcement that Allegiant decided to expand the Punta Gorda route. We've been working to try to get down to Florida for a decade," Dame said. "I think this will give a good opportunity to prove the market travel between Rapid City and Florida, and hopefully we can get it to expand over to the winter season as well."

Eight special Allegiant routes will begin Aug. 4-6 for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the airline said last week. The eight rally routes will offer connections to Rapid City from Appleton, Wisconsin; Indianapolis; Peoria, Illinois; Nashville; Pittsburgh; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Orlando/ Sanford, Florida; and Knoxville, Tennessee.

Contact Nathan Thompson at [email protected].

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