Allegiant’s long awaited Hawaii route announcement was to have occurred on February 14. It’s been almost two months and there have been no routes and no news from the tight lipped company. That doesn’t mean we haven’t learned a bunch since then, however. Read on to find out more.
Latest route rumors
My sources indicate that Allegiant may have decided to include Las Vegas in their Hawaii launch plans. That makes a lot of sense for several reasons. First Allegiant already has a great deal of experience creating Las Vegas packages that will prove extremely popular with Hawaii residents. Las Vegas is a perennial top destination for those of us in Hawaii. And no other player in this market can do Las Vegas packages the way Allegiant can. The company already serves Las Vegas from dozens of cities, which could also open the possibility of using Vegas as a hub for Hawaii service from other locations. That would be a new model for Allegiant. Any way I look at it, however, Las Vegas sounds like a winning plan for them.
The other locations being discussed haven’t really changed. At the top of the list is Stockton, Fresno, Eugene and Bellingham. Add Los Angeles as an outside possibility to these other mainland cities.
Hiring a Hawaii based crew
Allegiant has been hiring flight attendants for their Honolulu base. Those positions may already have been filled. They still have an ad posted for a Honolulu base manager however.
ETOPS certification
FAA approval for trans-Pacific service appears to be the current stumbling block in order to begin service. That was to have happened earlier this year and Allegiant indicated that was the key hurdle essential to their 757 based Hawaii route announcements. With Southwest Air Hawaii service delayed for at least another year, I can see no other obstacles likely to curtail this inevitability.
What will Allegiant service be like?
Allegiant has a unique model we’ve discussed before, and based thereon is likely to offer service only 2 or 3 times per week per mainland location. In addition, they are primarily interested in selling packages of air with hotel, car and/or activities. That’s how Allegiant makes money. Another way they’ll garner income en route to Hawaii is via their infamous ancillary fees. This week they announced plans to charge from $10 to $35 per carry on (anything in the overhead bin).
Note: Positive industry reaction to Allegiant’s new carry on fees (in concert with its upcoming Hawaii plans) caused the company’s stock to reach an time high yesterday.
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ALLEGIANT just announced 4/10/12 their flights to HONOLULU starting June 29th from LAS VEGAS and June 30th from FRESNO.
YES!!! This is what all ALLEGIANT’s loyal customers have been waiting for!!!! HAVE ALLEGIANT WILL TRAVEL…. to HONOLULU!!!
Allegiant announced this morning that flights from HNL to both Las Vegas and Fresno start in late June.
One way fares on LAS-HNL are showing as low as $149, while from Fresno the lowest one way fare is $174.
Have you heard if Southwest still have their Hawaii plan? I just got an email from Southwest today stat ting that they got their fir 737-800 aircraft for over water flights but it didn’t say over which water…..do I have wishful thinking 🙂
Hi Sandy.
Here’s the latest Southwest Airlines update. Sorry it doesn’t have the news we all were hoping for.
Aloha.
Jeff
Think I will stay with Star Alliance as well or WestJet out of YVR. Allegiant is truly a no-frills airline. Flown then twice to Las Vegas. I couldn’t imagine flying them for 5 hours to HNL or OGG.
That being said, competition is always good.
Sounds like it will be quite a while before they offer anything from Roanoke VA to Lihue. I’ve been looking for something reasonable for June – July travel this year, but prices seem to be holding steady. Any advice?
Hi Lori’s Mom.
Good to hear from you. We just talked about you and your travel plans and I look forward to meeting in person.
Unfortunately, I don’t have good travel news. Airfares are solidly locked at near $1,200 unless you want to drive 100 miles or more. That probably isn’t worth it to save $200. This summer looks like it will be the busiest Hawaii has seen. I wouldn’t even be surprised to see some sold out flights since inventory is under such tight control.
As a side note, if for any reason you find yourself in DC and want to take the new HNL nonstop, that would make for an easy connection to LIH. There are a few dates in early June for just over $860, plus the HNL-LIH segment.
Best aloha.
Jeff
I believe you are correct with Hawaii. In Early February I flew Allegiant from Lexington, KY to Vegas. Shortly after my return I was already looking to go back, but noticed that they were stopping all flights to and from Lexington. After calling to see what was up the customer service rep said they discontinued that route because they needed that plane for flights to Hawaii.
Allegiant got a lot of bad publicity a few days ago on King5 Seattle about the $35 carryon fee. I think I’ll stay with Star Alliance carriers, where my status gives us free baggage.
I’m excited at the prospect of them flying out of Stockton. I reside in Sacramento and Hawaiian Airline’s airfare from SMF is pretty ridiculous. The best rates are out of Oakland or SFO, but that’s much too far when you factor in the drive and commuter traffic. Stockton would only be an additional 30 minute drive for me, so I would definitely use that airport! Or at the very least, maybe it’ll create a price competitive market for HA and drive down their costs from Sac. Fingers crossed!
If they do as you say, they already have a flight 4times a week from SMX to/from Vegas. That would be great for us as we live in Santa Maria. Sounds like they will put in the $35. bin fee, at least from SMX as most of the people (and there are a lot of them) use Allegiant from SMX for the 45 minute flight to Vegas. We are getting closer.