New Airline at Gateway

The mystery airline that is set to start service from Williams Gateway airport is Allegiant Airlines, and I found the East Valley Tribune article to be the most informative on the topic:

Valley travelers will be able to fly directly from Mesa to 13 new destinations — many of them likely to be in the Midwest and Northwest— by year end.

But anxious passengers will have to wait another week or so to find out where they can book their next vacations.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, which flies to and from more than 50 destinations around the United States, said Tuesday it is establishing a hub at Williams Gateway Airport.

The first landing spot will be revealed Aug. 9, and a dozen more will be announced by mid-September, said Ponder Harrison, Allegiant managing director.

Flights on two 130-seat jets dedicated to the Mesa airport will begin Oct. 25, and Allegiant will be flying to all 13 destinations by Thanksgiving, said airline spokeswoman Tyri Squyres.

For most routes, round-trip service will be twice weekly, she said.

While McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is the company’s home base, it will not be one of the 13 new Mesa routes, Squyres said. Vision Air, now the Mesa airport’s only scheduled passenger service carrier, already flies twice weekly to North Las Vegas.

Read the rest for more information, but it is highly possible that Bellingham Washington, the Chicago area, Colorado Springs, and Billings Montana are non-stop destinations for the airline.

The Mister and I both think this is very good news, not just for the airport, which we hope succeeds, but for the entire East Valley. The thought of driving to Williams, parking, and hopping on an airplane to say, Billings, feels more palatable than driving to Sky Harbor, parking, and heading to the proper terminal and gate for the same flight. So, personally, it seems beneficial.

But it also sends the message that the East Valley is a player in the corporate world, with accessability and with its own identity, separate from Phoenix.

We are stuck in the days past when the airport was known as "Willie" and therefore were hoping that Williams would remain part of the moniker. The (almost surely - to be voted on Sept. 17) new name "Phoenix-Mesa Gateway" will do fine, however, and I understand the need to identify with the larger area.

This seems like good news all around.