Direct flight to Oakland offered
Nonstop jet service between Kalispell
and the San Francisco Bay Area is set to take flight by this
spring. Allegiant airline announced last week they will be offering
a new route between Glacier Park International and the Oakland
International Airport on Fridays and Mondays starting April 27.
“The Flathead Municipal Airport
Authority is delighted that Allegiant will be expanding its service
from Glacier Park International Airport to the San Francisco Bay
Area,” said Dennis Beams, Flathead Municipal Airport Authority
Chairman. “Reliable and affordable air service is one of the keys
to growing our regional economy.”
California is considered a top market
for Whitefish visitors. About 5 percent of all tourists here come
from California, behind only Washington, Minnesota and Alberta.
Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau
director Jan Metzmaker said the direct flight is a big plus for
Whitefish’s tourism industry.
“It’s hard to get people here, so
anytime we can add a direct flight it’s a good thing,” Metzmaker
said.
The WCVB has not yet formulated a
marketing plan for California, but with the new direct flight
they’ll be exploring the market.
“We don’t do much marketing in
California —it’s expensive,” Metzmaker said. “But we’ll figure out
how to get our toe hold in there. Having the direct flight and
being able to market around that is big for us. Hopefully we’ll be
able to capitalize on it.”
Metzmaker said it’s hard to know
exactly where California tourists to Whitefish are coming from
because the state is so big.
Allegiant is also adding the direct
flight to Oakland at the Bozeman, Missoula and Billings airports.
The airline currently offers a direct flight from Kalispell to Las
Vegas.
A one-way introductory rate of $39.99
will be offered to promote the new flight to Oakland.
Based in Las Vegas, Allegiant ranked
ninth this year in Forbes’ Best Small Companies list. The airline
also recently was named one of Fortune magazine’s 100
Fastest-Growing Companies for a second consecutive year.
Passenger numbers were up 7.4 percent
in the company’s latest financial quarter compared to last
year.
For more information about the airline
and introductory fares to Oakland, go online to allegiant.com.