Allegiant adds flight for spring break

BANGOR – Allegiant Air LLC announced this week that for five weeks next March and April, an additional nonstop flight would run from Bangor International Airport to Orlando, Fla., just in time for spring break.

Beginning March 4 and ending April 1, Allegiant will fly on Tuesdays in addition to its regularly scheduled Wednesday and Saturday flights. Tuesday flights will leave BIA at 11:40 a.m. and arrive at the Orlando Sanford International Airport at 3 p.m. Passengers departing from Orlando will leave at 7:55 a.m. and arrive at BIA at 11:05 a.m.

“That is a prime time for any market to have additional service into Florida,” said Tyri Squyres, an Allegiant spokeswoman. “The results and response from the market [have] been great in Bangor, and this is in response to that.”

Allegiant, a Las Vegas-based company, announced in July that it would start a twice-weekly service from BIA to Orlando on Nov. 7. The airline has offered one-way rates as low as $99. Allegiant, a low-cost carrier, will use a 150-seat MD-80 jet to fly the route.

The parent company, Allegiant Travel Co., specializes in connecting small cities to leisure destinations and often packages airfares with hotel rooms and rental cars.

Although Allegiant’s flight schedule is not published beyond May, Squyres said it is the airline’s intention to increase its presence in the Bangor market, whether it is seasonal or a permanent service.

“It’s rare that we’d add additional service before starting,” said Squyres. “So that is a good indicator” for Allegiant’s future in Bangor.