Airport not worried about new Allegiant Akron/Canton routes

VIENNA

There isn’t much concern at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport about the new routes Allegiant Air recently added to its service.

On Tuesday, the Las Vegas-based airline announced 22 new routes it will offer including service from the Akron-Canton Airport to Myrtle Beach International Airport, Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.

But Dan Dickten, the airport’s executive direction of aviation, does not expect this to have a negative impact on the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport where the airline offers flights to Orlando, Tampa Bay and Fort Myers, Florida, as well as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

“We don’t share that many passengers with the Akron and Canton area,” he said.

Furthermore, he said research shows that the airport only has 10 percent “leakage.” Leakage is the amount of customers going to other airports for service.

Justin Ralenkotter, a spokesperson for Allegiant, said the company does not foresee the Akron-Canton service affecting the Youngstown-Warren market.

“We anticipate to serve the Akron and Canton market there,” he said. “Youngstown will continue to be a draw for the Youngstown-area vacationers.”

Allegiant has often picked up services at airports in close proximity to one another. For example, the airline has service at the airports in Peoria, Bloomfield and Springfield, Illinois, which are all within an hour of each other, Ralenkotter said.

“We are able to serve all of those markets successfully,” he said.

In November, Allegiant announced flights between Pittsburgh and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport serving the Tampa Bay area, flights to Punta Gorda and to Jacksonville.

“We have not experienced any loss of passengers from the Pittsburgh flights that started Feb. 11,” Dickten said. “Allegiant has assured us that even though we are a smaller market that we are just as important.”