Discount carrier Allegiant Air has cut by half the number of flights between Chattanooga and Florida this spring compared to a year ago.
Last year, it had 33 nonstop flights to Florida a month, but it has sheared that figure to 16 as it reallocates planes to compete with airlines in other cities, an official said.
“Allegiant has a bit of a new strategy,” said Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport spokeswoman Christina Siebold. “It’s taking on other carriers in several markets head-on.”
The low-fare carrier, which flies to Orlando-Sanford and Tampa-St. Petersburg from Lovell Field, has reduced service in some smaller cities, she said.
But, Ms. Siebold said, the Allegiant service is still popular in Chattanooga, with the airline running high passenger loads.
“They were and still are filling up their planes,” she said, adding that the airline deploys its aircraft where it can earn the most money.
In addition to Orlando and Tampa Bay, the airline had flown from Chattanooga to Fort Lauderdale, but it cut that service in mid-2009.
Allegiant spokeswoman Sabrina LoPiccolo said it has made no fundamental shifts in the way it does business.
“Our strategy remains with a focus on linking small U.S. cities with world-class, leisure destinations,” she said.
Ms. LoPiccolo said the airline isn’t expected to make any changes regarding routes this summer.
But the fallout of the Allegiant shift is that total passenger boardings in Chattanooga have dropped off so far this year despite better numbers on other airlines.
In March, the latest month for which figures are available, airport boardings dropped 14.9 percent over a year ago, according to Lovell Field. For the first quarter, boardings are off 13.6 percent.
A reduced flight schedule has depressed boardings more than 40 percent for both the month and the quarter, according to the airport.
American Eagle has cut one of two flights between Chattanooga and Dallas-Fort Worth, Ms. Siebold said.
On the up side, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, the city’s busiest carrier, has bolstered the number of flights between the city and Atlanta to 10 daily. ASA boardings are 9.1 percent higher through March, figures show.
ALLEGIANT BOARDINGSMarch2010 — 3,5362009 — 6,186Off 42.8%First Quarter2010 — 8,3422009 — 14,183Off 41.1%Source: Lovell Field
The overall boardings drop comes after a 3 percent gain in 2009 to the third-highest level in the airport’s recorded history.
Airport officials cited a 17 percent decrease in average fares out of Chattanooga last year over 2008, along with area economic growth, for the higher traffic.
Tim Drillette, who flew into Lovell Field on Tuesday from Dallas-Fort Worth, said the fare is the main reason he picked Chattanooga over another airport.
He said he looked at Atlanta, but with a car rental and his time, the cost was similar to his flight.
Rob Kilpatrick, of Los Angeles, in Chattanooga for business, said he liked flying into Lovell Field because of its size.
“You don’t have to walk very far,” he said. “Security’s not a hassle.”
In September, Delta Air Lines plans to start daily nonstops between Chattanooga and the carrier’s Detroit hub, in part citing Volkswagen’s planned assembly plant here.