Allegiant (G4) New Route BLI-ANC
#16
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#17
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BLI is a Q400 only QX station right now, no? And using a E-175 means ANC needs to be able to handle them. The last time AS tried the Q400s in Alaska it flopped, are the E175s going to work better?
(Too bad AS is so Boeing-hidebound, those A220s DL has look sweet and just the right size for certain markets.)
Also, hard for me to believe AS can sustain BLI-ANC when they can't even sustain BLI-PDX or BLI-LAS.
(Too bad AS is so Boeing-hidebound, those A220s DL has look sweet and just the right size for certain markets.)
Also, hard for me to believe AS can sustain BLI-ANC when they can't even sustain BLI-PDX or BLI-LAS.
James
#18
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While I sort of get where you're coming from, there's actually a LOT of seasonal competition between the PNW and ANC.
Delta increases their fflights.
JetBlew shows up.
American shows up.
Sun Country picks a random new city every year to fly to ANC from.
Air Canada.
Frontier used to come in.
Virgin American tried it once.
And prices get pretty good during those months. I've seen $79 pretty frequently ANC-SEA, and roughly the same for ANC-PDX.
Delta increases their fflights.
JetBlew shows up.
American shows up.
Sun Country picks a random new city every year to fly to ANC from.
Air Canada.
Frontier used to come in.
Virgin American tried it once.
And prices get pretty good during those months. I've seen $79 pretty frequently ANC-SEA, and roughly the same for ANC-PDX.
#19
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,830
G4 don't offer connections, so I don't really see how this flight works for the leisure market (If it were part of an ANC-BLI-LAS flight it might make more sense); this is a pure O&D play. If you used it for a cruise, now you've just arrived at Canada Place, but your car is at BLI which isn't at all convenient. Alaska will respond, although I suspect it will be from PAE not BLI.
And in a very weird way, the Saudi's indirect apology for Khashoggi have ensured that AS are unlikely expand at BLI for the next little while (Low oil price = lower Canadian Dollar = lower demand @ BLI).
AS and G4 still have a big advantage (due to US flying across the border taxes - vs driving for free) operating into US (only) leisure markets from BLI vs their competition trying to do the same thing from YVR or YXX. So, I don't expect the Canadian ULCCs to really put that much of a dent into G4's base market of LAS/PSP/IWA/SAN. ANC just strikes me as a very very different market - time will tell.
#20
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I thought Anchorage and beyond is a big tourist destination in the summer months, and G4 could be trying to get a piece of that seasonal leisure market, assuming there are Canadians who want to visit AK?
#21
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Other than cruises, Canadians don't visit Alaska, they go to the Yukon/NWT. We have plenty of frozen tundra of our own.
#22
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Well going the other way if I were to visit Vancouver or other parts in BC/AB starting closer to the border would be great, but then I priced a rental car out of Bellingham vs Seattle. At 2x the going daily rate it's still cheaper to fly to Seattle :
#23
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I'm surprised there's any play at all here; G4 couldn't make HAWAII work. Hawaii is a magnitude better tourist destination than Alaska. There's no YVR service by AC, so I don't think this is meant to draw from the Vancouver area. This feels like one of G4's random "throw it against a wall and we'll cut the route in 3 months if it doesn't stick" kind of deals.
#24
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AC does have daily summer service on YVR-ANC. AS used to.
#25
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James
#26
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With all due respect, Alaska is quite a bit more varied than the Yukon (haven’t been to NWT but I’d assume it’s the same story). It also has a much better tourist infrastructure. I see plenty of B.C. license plates running around Alaska in the summer months.