News

Two new nonstop flights added to Sioux Falls' schedule
By The Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS -- Northwest Airlines has decided to offer nonstop service from Sioux Falls to Las Vegas, starting this fall.

The sole provider of that service so far has been Allegiant Air, and its flights often are 90 percent full since they began in July 2004.

Las Vegas now is in third place among destinations for the 335,000 who board planes in Sioux Falls every year.

Consumers were happy to learn of the new service.

"The more the merrier," said Jared Smith, 23, a Washington High graduate now living in Las Vegas. "One of the reasons we decided to move here was the convenience of flights to Sioux Falls."

Northwest already has nine daily flights from Sioux Falls to its Minneapolis hub. It will add two weekly nonstops to Las Vegas on an A-319 airbus with 124 seats starting the week of Oct. 30.

Allegiant thinks Northwest is trying to undercut the smaller carrier.

"That's their classic response," Allegiant President Maurice Gallagher said. "That's the number one aspect of their culture, to go after people aggressively and sit on them to send a message. It's a bit ill-timed with them facing a strike, a bankruptcy filing and losing hundreds of millions of dollars. I can't imagine how this is their strategy other than to lash out at people who want to offer additional services."

Kurt Ebenhoch, spokesman for Northwest, said the move is about serving the airline's customers. "We have a very large and loyal customer base in the Dakotas. We want to hold onto that base."

Allegiant, meanwhile, has decided to offer a new nonstop flight from Sioux Falls to Orlando, Fla. Officials said it will be the first scheduled nonstop connection to Florida in South Dakota's airline history.

Allegiant will fly an MD-80 with 160 seats, the largest passenger jet to serve Sioux Falls, said Mike Marnach, Sioux Falls airport director.

"We will be starting the new market in November at the earliest," said Allegiant spokeswoman Tyri Squyres.

Sioux Falls also is served by United, Delta and America West. It still loses many air travelers to Omaha, Neb., for cheaper fares or Minneapolis for more options. But the airport has had 20 consecutive months of higher traffic when compared with the previous year.

Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com