Newport News Allegiant air service to Orlando packed with advantages

ORLANDO—

— Allegiant's clean, relatively spacious aircraft, friendly flight crew and low fare seemed to appeal to travelers on the inaugural flight from Newport News to Orlando.

No one seemed too bothered by an opening-day computer hiccup that prevented Allegiant staff from printing boarding passes for about 30 minutes as a line of waiting passengers swelled before the flight.

It also didn't seem to matter that the service from Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport avoids Orlando's major international airport where AirTran currently flies. Instead, Allegiant uses the much smaller Orlando Sanford International Airport that is located in Seminole County northeast of the city that hosts Walt Disney World in its southwest quadrant.

The new Allegiant service is expected to help shore up demand for flights to the resort city ahead of AirTran Airways' planned departure from Newport News in March as part of its merger with Southwest Airlines.

After arriving at the Orlando Sanford airport Wednesday evening, a Virginia Beach passenger who only identified himself as Skip said he "enjoyed a great flight" with his wife and daughter. The family was going to visit an aeronautical university and cited the cheap, direct flight as the reason they chose not to fly from Norfolk.

Also on the nearly full inaugural flight was Peninsula Airport Commission Chairman Steven Mallon and fellow commission members LaDonna Finch and Hampton City Councilman George Wallace. They were joined by Ken Spirito, executive director of the Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport, several other airport officials, the Daily Press and about 20 representatives of area travel agencies and companies such as Canon and Ferguson Enterprises. The group was on a "familiarization" tour sponsored by the Orlando Sanford airport to acquaint them with the facility and its proximity to area attractions.

Passengers looking to take advantage of Allegiant's economical fares should pay attention to add-on fees — some of which are avoidable — while purchasing tickets.

The fare purchased by the Daily Press was advertised at $33 each way. But by the time a $28 "seat selection fee" (that didn't allow a particular seat to be selected) was added along with an additional $17 "convenience fee" and other taxes and fees, the total ticket price came to $132 round trip. Allegiant also charges $35 per checked bag.

Proximity to attractions

Once the flight to Orlando Sanford airport concludes, passengers will find themselves about 46 miles from Disney World — a drive that took exactly 50 minutes on Highway 417, a moderately traveled four-lane toll road that acts as a beltway around the eastern confines of Orlando. The same trip on Interstate 4, that bisects Orlando, took about five minutes less and had no tolls but was more heavily traveled.

Using the toll road, it takes about 25 minutes to travel from Orlando International Airport to Disney at a cost of $3. Conversely, the longer trip from the Orlando Sanford airport to Disney costs $2 more in tolls.

While the distance from Orlando Sanford to Disney may seem significant, there are other differences to consider which can affect travel times.

Sanford serves about 1.5 million passengers each year while about 35 million fliers pour through Orlando International annually, said Greg Dull, Orlando Sanford International Airport's vice president and director of marketing.

That means travelers can typically get through the Orlando Sanford airport much quicker than their counterparts at the larger airport where longer lines are common for everything from disembarking and luggage collection to renting a car. The expansive layout of the Orlando International Airport also frequently requires passengers to use a monorail to get from one point to another.

"Traffic on 417 is almost non-existent and it's really easy for families to get from the airport to Disney almost faster than when flying into the larger Orlando airport," Dull said while on tour of the area.

Airport size matters

Perhaps the characteristic that will resonate most with Hampton Roads travelers is the pace of the Orlando Sanford airport which is very similar to the Peninsula airport where passengers can typically check-in and clear TSA checkpoints with relative ease.

Dull said the average time to clear TSA at Orlando Sanford is 12 minutes.

Debbie Caldwell, with the Norfolk office of CI Travel, said she would recommend the Allegiant service to clients because of the airport's size and convenience to navigate. She also liked the non-stop service — especially for families — and that Allegiant flight crews' schedules allow them to be home nightly.

"That's a customer service perk," she said. "If they're home with their families at night, they're not on the plane being nasty because they haven't been home in a few days."

The Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday flight schedule may be the only drawback, Caldwell said, noting many travelers like to fly on Sunday.

While Allegiant is based in Las Vegas, for the time being, its flights from Newport News go only to Orlando.

An Allegiant spokeswoman said Wednesday the airline would like to expand the service if flights prove viable. Spirito said he would like to see St. Petersburg added as a destination.

Finch, one of the airport commission members, described the Orlando Sanford airport as "fun" and "less hassle." She said there is a "big misunderstanding" about how far the airport is to area attractions. She also noted the airport's proximity to a large senior citizen-oriented community called "The Villages" and horse-centric Ocala.

"I'm going to get as many people as I can to take this flight because I heard today, 'use it or lose it,'" Finch said. "We want to get people off the road and on the planes."

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