First Allegiant flight lifts Gary hopes

GARY | Scott and Barb Spitler last flew out of Gary/Chicago International Airport eight years and five airlines ago, but they liked it so much they were back Wednesday.

"I love this airport," said Barb Spitler, sitting in the terminal at 1:20 p.m. "It's close to home. It's smaller. Everyone is friendly and very helpful."

The Newton County couple, along with son Seth, 8, were among 150 hopeful passengers who bought out all seats on the inaugural Allegiant flight from Gary to Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida.

Both the departing Gary flight and the one that arrived at 11:20 a.m. were sold out, said Eric Fletcher, Allegiant manager of airports.

The departing flight departed the jet gate about 20 minutes late and 10 minutes later soared over downtown Gary into an overcast sky. It was the first regularly scheduled airline flight to depart the airport in more than three years.

The next Allegiant flight will depart Gary at noon Sunday. Then flights will depart at noon every Thursday and Sunday.

It was not only the flying public that showed up in force for Wednesday's inaugural flight. Gary and region community leaders also showed up en masse for the scheduled 3:20 p.m. departure.

"We believe the flight to Orlando is only the beginning," Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said at a preflight news conference, expressing hope Allegiant would add more routes and more airlines would follow.

The mayor's aspirations for the airport were encouraged moments later by Fletcher.

"We would like to increase the frequency of flights as well as destinations and we see Gary becoming very successful for us," Fletcher said.

The two spoke at a rostrum at the west end of the terminal in front of a throng of city and local community leaders. Fifty feet away, passengers were checking baggage and passing through the security checkpoint.

Reporters quickly got to the question on everyone's mind: Why will this airline be different from Pan Am, Southeast, Hooters, SkyValue and Skybus? All five flew into Gary amid high hopes, starting with Pan Am in 1999. All five went out of business. Skybus still holds the record for shortest stay – just three weeks.

Fletcher told the crowd Allegiant is different, with a proven track record in the industry and a business model different than the others. Allegiant is more than just an airline, he said, offering customers the chance to book discount hotel rooms and car rentals at its online reservations center.

According to its 2011 financial results, customers booked 647,700 hotel room nights and 577,700 rental car days through Allegiant that year. Fortune magazine named it one of its "100 fastest-growing companies" in 2011 and 2010, and the company boasts 36 straight profitable quarters.

"This is the first real legitimate airline this airport has ever had," Gary Jet Center owner Wil Davis said. "All the others were either start-ups or someone's fantasy. This is the real deal."

Jamey Willoughby, waiting for her flight, said she also was thinking of deals when she booked her flight.

"The price is right, and it's close to home," the Valparaiso mom said with son Noah, 11, and daughter Madison, 9, seated next to her.

Willoughby said she was paying $584 in fares and fees in total for the three of them to fly to Sanford to visit with her parents. That compared to $849 for an American flight out of O'Hare. Like others, she was surprised by the $7 per day parking fee at Gary, which was free at one time.