Las Vegas-headquartered Allegiant Air will establish a four-aircraft base at Provo Airport (PVU), Utah, in mid-November. Allegiant will spend US$95 million to set the base up at Utah's second-busiest airport, including upgrading the airport's equipment and infrastructure and creating nearly 160 new jobs at the airport.

Another base for Allegiant Air

Allegiant already has its 4,300 odd employees and 121 planes scattered across 22 bases in the United States. Allegiant Air began flying to Provo nine years ago and now flies to eight destinations directly from PVU, including Austin (AUS), Houston (IAH), Petersburg-Clearwater (PIE), Mesa (AZA), Phoenix (PHX), Palm Springs (PSP), Los Angeles (LAX), and Orange County (SNA). The airline, which operates narrowbody Airbus planes, will start parking four of them overnight in Provo from November 16.

"Allegiant understands the value of Provo Airport," said Keith Hansen, Allegiant's Vice President of Government Affairs. "Building on the success of eight existing routes at PVU, our investment means having locally-based aircraft and crews, opening the door for future new destination opportunities for residents."

Allegiant carves out a niche at Provo Airport

Allegiant is the only passenger airline flying regularly into PVU, replacing Frontier Airlines, which flew in from Denver (DEN) until 2013. Provo's Achilles heel is its proximity to Salt Lake City Airport (SLC), less than 50 miles away. But Allegiant has carved out a niche for itself at Provo, gradually adding routes since the initial services nine years ago to Mesa and Oakland Airports. The airline says it has flown more than 700,000 passengers through Provo since then, with the most heavily trafficked routes including those to Mesa, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Denver.

"Many will appreciate the personal conveniences of flying out of a regional airport, including shorter lines and personalized service, the economic benefits are substantial with each new roundtrip destination bringing an estimated $15 million into our local, regional, and state economy," says Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi.

"Allegiant Air has found a following with their unique brand of travel focused on low-cost, nonstop flights to popular destinations without the hassle of layovers and connections," adds Brian Torgersen, interim Provo Airport manager.

Allegiant's rather distinctive way of running its business

Allegiant's 121 narrowbody Airbus jets scoot around to 130 destinations in the US. The airline focuses on linking small-to-medium-sized cities in chillier parts of the United States with warm weather vacation destinations. While not exclusively avoiding competition, Allegiant is very good at choosing routes where it can enjoy sole operator status, such as the eight routes in and out of Provo.

Another Allegiant quirk is its out and back operating model. Most airlines use hub and spoke operating models, which involve aircraft and crews spending nights at a different airport and often being away from their home port for days. Not at Allegiant. Their planes and crews leave their base every morning and return every night. It's a win for the airline, eliminating layover costs, and also a win for crews who get to sleep in their own homes every night. The outcome is, in addition to ground crews and airport employees, Allegiant pilots and flight attendants will be living in and around Provo from mid-November.