"I'd like to officially welcome Missoula to Las Vegas," said Allegiant's Tyri Squyres at a midmorning news conference at Missoula International Airport before a small, appreciative crowd.
The Vegas touch at the conference was embodied by a showgirl named Porsha decked out in green feather regalia, complete with a tall headdress and a diamond choker.
But mostly Squyres talked about the twice-weekly flights, which begin March 3, and the price: the introductory fare is $39 one-way to Las Vegas and $69 back.
Other airlines on-and-off have offered nonstop service to Las Vegas from Montana for about the last 15 years, said Billings Logan International Airport business manager Kevin Ploehn.
In the early 1990s, casinos would charter Boeing 737s and 747s about once a month to fly people free from Billings and other Montana cities, Ploehn said.
More recently, America West Express has offered direct flights to Las Vegas from Billings. The service expands from once or twice a week to daily flights during busier months.
"A lot of people in Montana like to gamble," he said.
Flights from Billings to Las Vegas have been somewhat regular because the airport serves a larger geographic area and population.
Allegiant's new Missoula service is part of the budget airline's aggressive expansion plans. The airline, based in Las Vegas, has doubled its revenues and number of passengers for the past three years and plans to do so again. Allegiant plans to offer flights to seven new markets in 2005, Squyres said.
Its strategy has been to target mid-sized markets including Des Moines, Iowa; Lansing, Mich.; Peoria, Ill.; and Sioux Falls, S.D. Last week, the company announced new service to Pasco, Wash.
"Airlines are trying to define niches where they can make a profit," Ploehn said. The major airlines are "bleeding like crazy," but the smaller budget companies are on "safer ground," he said.
Allegiant uses full-size, 150-seat MD-80 jets. The flight takes about two hours, Squyres said.
Missoula airport board chairman Cliff Larsen beamed and laughed when Squyres handed him a blinking article of Las Vegas kitsch.
With Porsha smiling beside him, he said, "This is part of our continuing efforts to improve air service in Missoula."
Reporter Robert Struckman can be reached at 523-5262 or rstruckman@missoulian.com
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