Last call: Allegiant ends Phoenix-Sonoma flights after just months of service
Dec 2, 2016, 3:45 PM
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PHOENIX — Just months after beginning service between Phoenix and California wine country, Allegiant Airlines has reportedly called it quits.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported the airline decided to cancel service between Sonoma, California and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport because it was not popular enough with travelers.
“There was simply not enough demand to support continuing the route,” spokeswoman Hilarie Grey told the newspaper.
Data from Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport said Allegiant’s flights from the Phoenix area were about 65 percent full on average. The same route flown by Alaska Airlines averaged 82 percent full.
The paper theorized that competition from American Airlines — which flies out of the larger Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport — may have also reduced Allegiant’s confidence in the route.
The airline began flying the twice-daily route in May. The final flight between the Valley and wine country will be on Jan. 2.
However, Allegiant is not giving up on connecting the Southwest with Sonoma. It plans to keep flying to northern California twice a week from Las Vegas.