Saturday, February 18, 2006
A Make-a-Wish teen made the first reservation.
VIENNA -- Allegiant Air had logged 100 reservations Thursday, the first day reservations were accepted, and 70 more by midafternoon Friday.
Flight service starts here May 19.
"It's huge. They [Allegiant] love the Mahoning and Shenango valleys," said Vic Rubenstein, of Rubenstein Associates of Liberty, local marketing and advertising representative for Allegiant. "They just couldn't believe it."
Rubenstein said 80 percent of the reservations had come from the Mahoning and Shenango valleys, with the rest coming from outside.
Allegiant Air and the Western Reserve Port Authority announced Thursday that scheduled service was coming to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
Brian Mosko of Tibbetts-Wick Road in Girard, the 16-year-old who appeared in a Cadillac Escalade commercial as his dream wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, made the first reservation Thursday to fly on Allegiant Air to visit Disney World in Orlando.
Allegiant gave him and his family complimentary air fare, hotel accommodations and Disney World tickets.
Lifelong illnesses
Brian, a student at Warren John F. Kennedy High School, was born with hydrocephalus, more commonly known as water on the brain. He was also deaf and was diagnosed with Erb's palsy, a disorder that caused paralysis on his right side.
A critical portion of his immune system is missing, making him more susceptible to illness. His chances of contracting an infection are about 10 times greater than the average person. People with the disease typically die between the ages of 15 and 30.
Every four weeks he receives an intravenous treatment that provides an artificial immune system. He's been undergoing the procedure since he was 7. The cost is $7,600 per infusion. His family's insurance covers him until his 19th birthday, but his need for the treatment is a lifetime one.
Surgery restored his hearing, and by working with his mother in home school and with the staff at Fairhaven's Early Intervention Program, Brian has improved.