Beginning Feb. 19, 2014, a low-cost travel company will offer nonstop service from Burlington to Orlando via Orlando Sanford International Airport.
Allegiant Travel Company, the Las-Vegas based company that operates Allegiant Airlines, announced the new route on Tuesday afternoon. The airline will offer the flights twice weekly; one-way fares begin at $67.
"We hope this is the beginning of a long productive relationship between Burlington and Allegiant," Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said at a press conference at Burlington International Airport (BTV).
"We are pleased to bring a new, affordable and convenient travel option to the residents of Burlington," said Andrew C. Levy, president of Allegiant Travel Company, in a press release. "We are confident the Burlington community will appreciate the convenience of flying nonstop to Orlando for less."
Weinberger said service to Florida is the third-most popular destination for Burlington travelers, behind New York and Washington, D.C.
“Not having non-stop service to Florida was a true gap in what was being offered here,” he said. “That gap has been filled with Allegiant stepping up today.”
Officials hope the new route will address the high demand to fly from Burlington to Florida and a dearth of airlines and connections. "Since an airport is really analogous to an air service store, imagine trying to run that store when you can't get the product," Agency of Transportation Secretary Brian Searles said on Tuesday.
Burlington is 101st city that Allegiant will serve, and the first city in Vermont, a spokesman said.
Weinberger said the added service is part of the airport’s larger recovery after the 2008 economic recession. Porter Airlines added a route from Burlington to Toronto in 2011 and Delta Airlines resumed non-stop service to Atlanta in June after it discontinued the route in 2009.
