It must be Allegiant Day as the airline continues to make route news. Unfortunately this isn’t good news for my home airport of Austin, though it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Allegiant is making cuts to routes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) this winter as the Las Vegas based ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) closes its Austin base.
We first reported on this last month and now we have answers on what routes will be affected. Allegiant historically operates routes from its bases with the aircraft and crew returning each evening. Crews overnight at their homes saving the airline lodging costs and allowing crew to spend time with family. Because of this, when a base gets eliminated, a significant number of routes are sure to follow.
Now we know which routes are getting the axe. Allegiant is eliminating the following routes as of January 7th, 2025:
- Bozeman, MT (BZM)
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, KY (CVG)
- Des Moines, IA (DSM)
- Eugene, OR (EUG)
- Grand Rapids, MI (GRR)
- Knoxville, TN (TYS)
- Louisville, KY (SDF)
- Santa Ana, CA (SNA)
- Sarasota/Bradenton, FL (SRQ)
- Washington-Dulles, VA (IAD)
Additional routes currently operating from Austin will end between now and January 7th, though these are seasonal routes and there’s no word yet on whether some of them will return after the base is eliminated.
Flights are still loaded in the schedule to the following Allegiant bases past January 7th, 2025 and are available for booking at allegiantair.com:
- Asheville, NC (AVL)
- Las Vegas, NV (LAS)
- Orlando Sanford (SFB)
- Provo, UT (PVU)
Why Allegiant is Cutting Routes
Allegiant is all about minimizing costs to be able to provide low fares to passengers and maximize profits. The airline typically operates from secondary airports on the outskirts of larger cities such as Phoenix-Mesa (AZA) and Orlando/Sanford (SFB). Allegiant doesn’t operate connecting flights and , instead prefers to operate point to point routes between cities that don’t otherwise have service.
The airline built up a large base in Austin primarily due to the South Terminal, a secondary, no-frills facility on the south side of the airport. The terminal doesn’t have jet bridges and planes are loaded and unloaded via ramps. A food truck is the only food and beverage option after clearing security.
The sparseness of this terminal makes for lower landing fees which are attractive to ULCCs (the South Terminal is also home to fellow ULCC Frontier). Unfortunately for Allegiant, Frontier, and passengers that prefer the convenience of the South Terminal, the facility will be demolished as part of the Journey With AUS expansion and development program.
The demolition of the terminal will make way for new midfield taxi lanes after the airport settled an $88 million dollar lawsuit with the operators of the South Terminal. Once the South Terminal is demolished in early 2026, Allegiant and Frontier will either relocate to the more expensive Barbara Jordan Terminal or eliminate service to Austin altogether.
The base closure marks the first step in preparing for the demolition of the terminal. Allegiant opened its Austin base back in 2021 with a $75 million dollar investment that brought in 89 high-wage jobs. The airline houses three Airbus A320 aircraft in Austin. Frontier has already cut most of its routes from Austin.
Summary
Allegiant is eliminating a number of routes from Austin due to the planned closure of the carrier’s base at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. It remains to be seen whether the airline will move to the Barbara Jordan Terminal or eliminate service from Austin altogether when the South Terminal is demolished in 2026.
(Images courtesy Allegiant Air and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport)
