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All Aboard The Snowbird Express
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The holiday season is upon us, and that means the scorching Arizona heat has tempered down to the acceptably mild temperatures we see now. And an annual ritual as common as the return of the swallows of Capistrano, snowbirds flock back to their fair weather Winter digs around the East Valley. Winter Visitors usually drive into the Valley in their automobiles or RV's, but it's a long trek from the northwestern corner of the U.S or the Upper Midwest, well over a 1,000 miles in many cases. However, because of Allegiant Air there becomes a much quicker, convenient, and usually cheaper way for Snowbirds to be connected to the colder parts of the country they come from.
Allegiant Air isn't the usual airline. It's a Las Vegas-based carrier that was founded in 1997 to link smaller cities with very limited or no commercial airline service to sunny, leisure destinations by way of non-stop jet flights. In recent years Allegiant has undergone a major expansion, and it chose Mesa as one of it's hubs initiating service at Phoenix/Mesa Gateway Airport in October 2007. They are a no-frills airline, which means that when you buy a ticket all you basically get is a seat to sit in for the two or three hour flight, no meals are served, and no inflight entertainment. Everything costs extra, from checked baggage to soft drinks on the flight. Of course this has also become true of most of the legacy carriers that serve Phoenix Sky Harbor, such as US Airways, Delta, United, or American for example. And for a fare from, for instance, Phoenix to Fargo on any legacy carrier will almost always run hundreds of dollars more and you'll have to change planes somewhere in-between. Not to mention avoiding the congested Sky Harbor Airport with all it's traffic and waiting through those long lines of security makes using Gateway Airport a welcome relief.
The airline serves 15 destinations from Phoenix/Mesa Gateway Airport, a former Air Force Base that was converted to a mostly cargo and logistical airport with plans of becoming an alternative to the much busier Sky Harbor in the not-so-distant future. Gateway Airport also has a much closer advantage to the scores of winter visitors that call East Mesa and Apache Junction their seasonal home. All of the 15 cities Allegiant serves are located around common winter visitor origination points such as Grand Rapids, Bismarck, Sioux Falls, Cedar Rapids, and Billings. Allegiant does not have scheduled service to Canada, however it does serve Bellingham, Washington which can be conveniently used to access the Greater Vancouver, BC area less than 50 miles away (or less than 80 km for you Canadians).
For schedules, pricing or other information go to www.allegiantair.com, or call 1-702-505-8888.
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