Low-cost Allegiant Air has included Tucson on a list of cities it could stop serving under requirements for airlines that received federal aid to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Allegiant on Friday went ahead with plans to launch a twice-weekly seasonal nonstop flight from Tucson to Las Vegas, and it is for now maintaining that flight as well as its service between Tucson and Provo, Utah.
Meanwhile, Tucson International Airport is seeing its passenger counts rise faster than elsewhere and expects several suspended flights to return in mid- to late-summer.
Airlines have cut thousands of flights and suspended certain routes altogether as the pandemic has crushed air travel.
Airlines that took federal aid through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act were initially required by the U.S. Department of Transportation to keep at least minimal service on each route.
But in mid-May, regulators decided to allow airlines to apply for exemptions to drop service to a portion of destinations on their schedules.
On Wednesday, the DOT issued an order approving exemptions requested by 15 airlines allowing them to drop service to 75 cities.
Among the airlines granted exemptions, only Allegiant requested an exemption to drop Tucson, along with five other cities.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant said it will continue to fly its current Tucson schedule, based on demand.
Allegiant spokeswoman Sonya Padgett noted that Allegiant mainly caters to leisure travelers, and demand in Tucson has fallen off since the University of Arizona closed to cope with the pandemic.
Allegiant — a so-called “ultra low-cost carrier” that offers low base fares with fees for most extras — launched service in Tucson in November 2018 with service to Provo and a seasonal flight to Bellingham, Washington, adding a seasonal flight to Indianapolis last November.
Allegiant hasn’t yet determined when the Bellingham and Indianapolis flights might return, Padgett said.
Allegiant announced in April it would receive $171.9 million in emergency coronavirus relief, including a $21 million loan backed by the airline’s stock, to keep paying its workforce of about 4,500.
Like other airports, Tucson International Airport saw its flight and passenger counts plummet as the COVID-19 outbreak unfolded and airlines canceled individual flights and suspended or dropped some routes altogether.
But flights at TIA are rebounding and the airport expects to regain many lost flights, including seasonal winter nonstops, said David Hatfield, senior director of air service development and marketing for the Tucson Airport Authority.
At the beginning of March, TIA had nonstop flights to 19 destinations, including four seasonal routes, but it now has 15 nonstops, Hatfield said.
Of the 15 year-round destinations, there were some suspensions and cuts — leaving just one daily nonstop to Los Angeles for now — but as of Friday, nonstop flights were available on 12 of those routes, he said.
Overall, TIA went from 63 daily departures at the beginning of March down to a low of 14, Hatfield said
As of Friday, departures were back up to 24 and, if things stay as planned the airport could have more than 30 next month, he said.
Over the longer term, Hatfield said, TIA’s two largest carriers — American Airlines and Southwest Airlines — are putting together “aggressive” schedules.
American says it is returning to 55% of last year’s capacity in July and Southwest has a schedule that returns almost 90% of its schedule by the end of the year, depending on sustained growth of bookings, Hatfield noted.
Tucson’s nonstop routes
Here is a breakdown of the status of TIA nonstop routes by city:
- Atlanta — Resumes July 2 on Delta Air Lines
- Chicago Midway — Daily flight on Southwest
- Chicago O’Hare — Daily service available except on Saturdays on American
- Dallas/Fort Worth — Back to at least four daily flights through June and probably more in July on American
- Denver — Effective Sunday, June 7, Southwest is bumping up to three flights a day, from one. United has two flights a day and low-cost carrier Frontier is continuing through the summer with one flight a week
- Houston — Daily on United Airlines
- Las Vegas — Allegiant started new flights on Fridays and Sundays; Southwest is increasing frequency from one daily flight to three
- Los Angeles — Down to just one flight a day on Delta. Southwest is scheduled to resume one flight a day June 28 and then add a second on August 9. American is tentatively planning to resume its flights on July 7
- Phoenix — Daily flights on American
- Provo — Allegiant returned with Monday and Fridays as of June 1
- Salt Lake City — Delta is adding a third daily round-trip on Sunday, June 7
- San Diego — Flights on Southwest are suspended until Aug. 9
- San Francisco — Daily flights on United
- San Jose — Flights on Southwest are suspended until Aug. 16
Seattle — Daily flights on Alaska
