The addition of Allegiant Air at Trenton-Mercer Airport will help the airport continue to grow as a regional hub in New Jersey.
The skies over Trenton are looking a little friendlier with the addition of a second airline that will begin operating out of Trenton-Mercer Airport this November.
Allegiant Air, which bills itself as a low-cost alternative to larger carriers, will offer flights to three cities in Florida: Orlando, St. Petersburg and Punta Gorda, on the Gulf Coast between Sarasota and Fort Myers.
The planes will supplement routes already operated by Frontier Airlines, which has been the airport's sole commercial carrier since 2012, and which last April passed the one million-passenger mark.
Frontier recently beefed up its schedule out of the local regional airport, announcing nonstop flights to Punta Gorda beginning Oct. 31.
The increased options are good news for travelers, who stand to benefit from what Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes calls "healthy competition."
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Based in Las Vegas, Allegiant follows an a la carte business model, offering rock-bottom fares, but charging for food, bags and reserved seats.
The arrangement allows passenger to pick and choose only those components of air travel they need, giving them the option to keep travel costs comparatively low.
"You can self-select everything you need and you don't have to select the things you don't," says Eric Fletcher, the airline's manager of airports. "None of those extras are baked into your fare to begin with."
Although some passengers gripe about the limited weekly schedule and what they see as its nickel-and-dime approach, Allegiant continues to be one of the most profitable carriers in the United States, with flights out of 11 operating bases including Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Phoenix.
Earlier this summer, the airline announced it would begin flying between Newark Liberty International Airport and Cincinnati, Savannah, Knoxville, Tenn., and Asheville, N.C.
The Tampa Bay Times reported last week that Allegiant is buying 12 new Airbus 320 planes, the first purchase of new aircraft in the company's 19-year history, and will retire some of its aging fleet in the coming years.
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For travelers able and willing to tailor their schedules around Allegiant's and Frontier's, flying out of a smaller airport has multiple advantages.
They include proximity to home, more convenient parking, quicker check-in - and the pleasure of not having to fight the unmanageable crowds that clog security lines at Newark or Philadelphia airports.
In many instances, the base fares are also easier on the pocketbook. Allegiant was hawking $39 one-way tickets until last Saturday as a lure to new passengers.
It's refreshing to see these recent signs of robust activity at Trenton-Mercer, which has not always had the smoothest sailing as carriers came and went over the years.
We welcome the boon to the regional economy, and wish the newcomer happy landing.