Allegiant Air announces major Punta Gorda expansion

Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) ~ The Bailey Terminal, named after the Bailey brothers who were all from Punta Gorda and served in the military during WWII and the Korean wars, will soon be expanded to accommodate the growing number of passengers traveling in and out of the airport. Read all about PG Airport at: www.flypgd.com/services 

Today In The Sky written by Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY
Allegiant Air will announce a major expansion at its Punta Gorda base near Fort Myers today (July 30), detailing plans for eight new nonstop routes that will begin there this fall.
The new routes will be phased in between Oct. 30 and Dec. 18, giving Las Vegas-based Allegiant a total of 19 nonstop destinations from Punta Gorda. Like nearly all of Allegiant's other routes across the USA, the company will offer just a few weekly flights to its new Punta Gorda destinations.
Allegiant Air is the only carrier that offers regularly scheduled airline service to the Punta Gorda Airport(airport code PGD), which is about 25 miles from downtown Fort Myers. PGD also is only about 40 miles from the region's primary Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), which is served by most big U.S. carriers as well by international carriers Air Berlin, Air Canada and WestJet.
As for Punta Gorda, the new routes included in Allegiant's Tuesday announcement are:
  • Bangor, Maine (begins Oct. 30)
  • Youngstown, Ohio (Oct. 30)
  • Allentown, Pa. (Oct. 31)
  • Springfield/Branson, Mo. (Oct. 31)
  • Moline/Quad Cities, Ill. (Nov. 1)
  • Asheville, N.C. (begins Nov. 2)
  • Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Dec. 18)
  • Des Moines (Dec. 19)
Allegiant Air already offers service between Punta Gorda and 11 cities. They are Fort Wayne, Ind.; Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Lexington, Ky.; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Peoria, Ill.; Plattsburgh, N.Y.; Rockford, Ill.; South Bend, Ind.; Springfield, Ill.; and Toledo, Ohio.
"Southwest Florida has been a successful part of our vacation destination offerings for some time," Andrew Levy, Allegiant Travel Company president, says in a statement. "Expanding our base at Punta Gorda Airport will allow us to give more of our markets access to the Southwest Florida coast and offer travelers more affordable vacation options. We are happy to partner with an airport that operates in a low-cost, efficient manner, which allows us to pass the savings on to our customer."
Allegiant Air says it will base two additional MD-80 jets at the airport to accommodate its expanded schedule there.
"Adding these additional cities opens up an opportunity to visit Southwest Florida. It also enables our community additional options to fly to their hometowns," James Herston, chairman of the Charlotte County Airport Authority, says in the Allegiant statement. "The additional based aircraft and crews create a significant economic impact in our community."