One of Allegiant Air's Boeing 757s (N902NV) while still in Everett, WA.
The journey from rumors that Allegiant Air was to add Boeing 757-200s during the summer 2010 to their fleet to now receiving ETOPS and Flag Carrier Status status from the Federal Aviation Administration has been long.
Last summer, it was a let down for Allegiant, when the FAA gave them authorization to fly the new aircraft type, but they would not give the airline ETOPS certification to fly over the water to Hawaii. Over the past year, Allegiant has been flying a few 757s on routes in the continental US to gain experience. That experience is finally paying off and starting at the end of this month, the airline will start service to Honolulu, followed by Maui in November. Allegiant’s non-stop service plan to Honolulu:
Las Vegas ’“ begins June 29
Fresno, Calif. ’“ begins June 30
Bellingham, Wash. ’“ begins November 15
Monterey, Calif ’“ begins November 16
Eugene, Ore. ’“ begins November 17
Santa Maria, Calif. ’“ begins November 17
Stockton, Calif. ’“ begins November 18
Allegiant will also offer nonstop air service to Maui from:
Bellingham, Wash. ’“ begins November 14
’œThis is an important day for Allegiant,’ Andrew C. Levy, Allegiant Travel Company President, said. ’œObtaining ETOPS and Flag Carrier status not only clears the path for our new service to Hawaii, but also opens up potential international opportunities and will play an important role in our company’s future growth. Our operations team worked long and hard to ensure the completion of this certification and we thank them for their dedication in achieving this important goal.’
Currently, Allegiant operates a fleet of 58 MD-80 aircraft and four Boeing 757-200s. They still have two additional 757s that are being leased. Allegiant plans to put one 757 into service during fourth quarter 2012 and the second first quarter of 2013.
Allegiant is still planning to grow and is looking at other route options. Previously Levy has stated that the airline is looking at the possibility of flying to Canada, Mexico and even South America.
Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 about to leave Bellingham for warm Honolulu.
Bellingham is located about an hour and a half north of Seattle and about fourteen miles south of the Canadian border. Over the past few years Belingham International Airport (BLI) has been growing tremendously. Friday was an exciting day for the airport and Alaska Airlines. Even though Alaska and their sister carrier Horizon Air have been flying out of Bellingham to Las Vegas and Seattle for quite sometime now, Alaska has now started non-stop service to Honolulu (HNL). They will fly to Honolulu and back once per day using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Alaska started their first flight to Hawaii in 2007 and now has eighth west coast cities connecting to the islands of Hawaii.
“Alaska Airlines is proud to call the Pacific Northwest home. So we’re delighted to offer Bellingham its first-ever nonstop scheduled service to Hawaii,” said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of marketing. “Our new Honolulu flights will allow travelers from north of Seattle and the Lower Mainland to take advantage of our low fares, award-winning service and Mileage Plan earning opportunities via an easy-to-access, nearby airport.”
Flying to the state of Alaska has become huge for the airline. I was able to talk to Bob Derse, Regional Manager of Sales and Community Marketing in the Northwest and he explained when he started with Alaska about 30 years ago, 80% of seat miles were flown to and from the state of Alaska. Today there are only about 16% of the seat miles flown to Alaska and 15% being flown to Hawaii. Derse, the other local Alaska personnel and the airport’s personal were all very excited for this flight. Of course all of their excitement was nothing for the full plane load of passengers who were waiting to head to Hawaii. Well, actually it wasn’t a full plane. Due to weight and range issues, the flight will be flown with 10 empty seats. That is a win for passengers, since this means there will be quite a few empty middle seats, making the flight more comfortable.
This guy is loving the idea he is heading to Hawaii!
I asked Christina Aldanese of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau if Hawaiians thought it odd to fly on planes to the west coast of the United States on an airplane that has “Alaska” on the side. She explained that Hawaii and Alaska states have a sort of sisterhood with both not being a part of the continental United States and the last two to join the union. Many folks going to and coming from the islands truly appreciate the additional flights that Alaska has provided.
Since this was such a big (and fun) deal, Alaska wasn’t going to let this happen with out some special treats. Passengers were greeted by employees in Hawaiian garb and were given a special party bag, food and drink. After going through security, there were Hawaiian decorations and more food and drink at the gate. Before boarding, there was an Hawaiian blessing done with a gentlemen in Hawaiian garb chanting and splashing water from a bowl with what looked like braided seaweed. He started from the gate and went through the plane and back inside. It was quite entertaining to see. While he was doing this there was an Allegiant flight that was de-boarding and I don’t think I have seen so many looks of curiosity from passengers.
There were plenty of smiles coming from people as their boarded the aircraft, knowing in a few hours they would be in Hawaii. Although Alaska is the first airline to fly from Bellingham to Hawaii, they most likely will not be the last. Allegiant has announced they plan to commence flights out of Bellingham, but their ETOPS certification of their new Boeing 757’s have been delayed, causing the flights to be pushed to at least 2012. This will give Alaska time to market their new route and start to build a loyalty for passengers flying from northern Washington and southern British Columbia to Honolulu.
To help you celebrate, Alaska is offering special discounted tickets for quite sometime. You can fly to HNL from BLI for just $149 each way — hmm, maybe I can take advantage of that.
MORE GOODIES:
* My photos of the Alaska Airlines event
* Video from KOMO4 News
Apolo Ohno taking a photo of his image on an Alaska Airline's Boeing 737...how surreal. Photo by me.
Back in March I blogged how you could win a trip to Hawaii for five days with Apolo Ohno on Alaska Airlines. Well, Alaska received almost 30,000 entries (one was mine) and four lucky people were selected (none of those were me, but I did get to be there…bonus). I always wonder, “does anyone ever win these things?” and sure enough they do.
Yesterday morning I got up at about 3:45am to head down to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to meet the lucky winners and of course Apolo Ohno. You know Mr. Ohno right? He is the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time and he is also a cool dude. For some, being that talented has a way of going to someone’s head, but not for Ohno. He was more than happy to take photos with fans.
I spoke with one of the winners and his guest; Kevin LaChapelle and his new fianc Whittnee Chen. Even though they have known each other for years, Kevin just proposed and Whittnee said yes. What better way to celebrate than a free trip to Hawaii, with Apolo?
Apolo after he arrived in Maui. Photo by Alaska Airlines
Kevin told me he almost missed winning this trip. He saw the email and sent it to his spam folder. He then remembered signing up for the contest and took a second look. He had won! Kevin said if Whittnee didn’t say yes to his proposal, he had many friends saying they would take her slot to Hawaii.
I was also able to interview Apolo on video about his thoughts on having his image on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737. Well, long story short, I lost the video. Lame. It was really good too. Anyhow he told me it was very surreal. He explained how much he loves Alaska Airlines and is so happy they sponsored him. The silver lining of all this, I was Tweeting my frustrations on losing the video and Apolo responded over Twitter he would like to re-do it. Now, that is awesome!
Their special flight took off from Seattle at about 8:30am yesterday and arrived in Maui in the afternoon. When they arrived, they were greeted by the Lt Governor of Hawaii, James R. “Duke” Aiona Jr, the Maui Mayor Charmain Tavares and the Maui Surf Groms.
The groms are a group of young surfers who are looking to make surfing an official Olympic sport. The group helps disadvantage kids fly around the Hawaiian islands to compete and they were all very excited to meet Ohno.
It was fun to watch them all leave, but I wish I was going with them. Oh well, at least I can blog about it.
Check out all my photos (and a few from Alaska Airlines) of yesterday’s events – including a shot of the luggage processing area at SEA.
Apolo Ohno outside of his special livery plane. "Follow Apolo to Hawaii"
Previously I talked about Alaska Airlines having a special “Follow Apolo” livery to help support a local Olympic celebrity Apolo Ohno. He had great success during this winter Olympics and is the most decorated US winter Olympian in history — quite a feat. To help celebrate, Alaska Airlines recently launched their “Follow Apolo to Hawaii” sweepstakes where you could win a Hawaiian vacation for two with Ohno.
Five people and guests will win a trip to Maui, a private luau with Ohno and four nights and five days at the Grand Wailea in Maui. Not too shabby.
“What better way to celebrate the most decorated U.S. winter athlete in history than to give fans the chance to say ’˜congratulations’ from Maui,” said Greg Latimer, Alaska’s managing director of brand and product marketing.
On Friday, passengers on flight 859 from Seattle to Honolulu were greeted by a nice surprise – meeting Ohno who was handing out leis.
It is easy to enter. Just head over to FollowApolo.com and sign up for your chance for a little relaxation in Hawaii. If you sign up for the Alaska Airline’s newsletter or have a mileage plan number, you can increase your chances of winning!
connect | web | twitter | facebook |
