Tag: St. Petersburg

Allegiant Announces Aircraft Base in Concord, North Carolina

March 4, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ: ALGT) today announced plans to establish a base of operations at Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (USA). The Las Vegas-based company will invest $50 million to establish the new base in Concord, creating at least 66 high-wage jobs and housing two Airbus aircraft.

The company, which focuses on linking travelers in small-to-medium cities to world-class leisure destinations, plans to begin its base operations in Concord on October 7, 2020. Concord-Padgett Regional Airport will become the airline’s 21^st aircraft base.

Located minutes from Charlotte, Concord is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, with a robust business infrastructure and a diverse workforce. Home to some of North Carolina’s top tourist destinations, including NASCAR’s famed Charlotte Motor Speedway and Concord Mills, the city boasts a historic downtown district and a wide variety of entertainment and leisure activities for visitors and local residents. Concord is the largest city in Cabarrus County, with a population of more than 94,000.

“Since Allegiant’s first flight from Concord-Padgett Regional Airport in 2013, their growth has been truly remarkable,” said Concord Mayor Bill Dusch. “We are very pleased that Allegiant has selected Concord for a new base of operations, which brings new jobs and travel opportunities for the citizens of Concord and the Charlotte region. We look forward to continue developing our partnership with Allegiant in the future.”

“We’re excited about making Concord a permanent base, and further establishing Allegiant as a hometown airline for this high-performance city,” said Keith Hansen, Allegiant’s vice president of government affairs. “With a growing and diverse population seeking affordable vacation travel, and as a regional destination for race enthusiasts, arts fans and more, Concord is an ideal location for an Allegiant base. Having locally-based operations will mean opportunities for expanded hours, as well as more – and more frequent – flight offerings for residents and visitors alike.”

“This decision reaffirms that what began as a wonderful opportunity for a growing destination has grown into a committed relationship,” said Concord-Padgett Regional Airport Aviation Director Dirk Vanderleest. “My staff and I are humbled by this opportunity and milestone for USA. We look forward to working hand in hand with Allegiant Air to ensure that both residents and visitors alike are recipients of excellent customer service and expanded vacation opportunities.”

“Allegiant took Cabarrus County’s tourism industry to the next level with commercial air service and we’re proud to offer our support as they continue to grow,” said Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau President & CEO Donna Carpenter. “Visitor spending reached over $469 millionin Cabarrus County in 2018. These enhancements will fuel that figure, generating tax revenues that will positively impact the local economy and quality of life in our community.”

Allegiant began operating at USA in 2013 and currently offers seven non-stop routes: one to the Mardi Gras City of New Orleans and six to premier Florida destinations, including Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando/Sanford, Palm Beach, Punta Gorda and St. Pete-Clearwater. Since establishing service, Allegiant has flown more than one million passengers through Concord, including 353,000 in 2019 alone.

“Cabarrus County’s investment in Allegiant emphasizes the power of collaboration,” said Cabarrus CountyBoard of Commissioners Chair Steve Morris. “Our support of projects related to the Concord-Padgett Regional Airport boosts the economic stability of all municipalities in our county and throughout the region.”

Both the Concord City Council and Cabarrus County Commissioners approved three-year economic development grants for the expansion. Based on a portion of the increased tax investment, the grant amount from the City of Concord would not exceed $48,649 and $75,001 from Cabarrus County.

“The establishment of this base really reinforces Allegiant’s commitment to our community,” said Cabarrus Economic Development Existing Industry Director Page Castrodale. “It sends a message that Cabarrus County is the right place to do business.”

Allegiant, which employs more than 4,300 team members across the U.S., plans to immediately begin hiring pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and ground personnel to support the operations. The majority of the new positions are expected to offer salaries that are more than double the state’s average wage. Interested applicants may apply online.

Russia’s St Petersburg Airport Expects to Host Ryanair, Others in 2020

December 26, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Low-cost airline Ryanair and other budget carriers are expected to start flying from Russia’s St Petersburg airport in 2020, the Russian Transport Ministry said.

The move is part of Russia’s plan to boost tourist flows to St Petersburg and will mean more competition for Russian air carriers, including national flag carrier Aeroflot.

The ministry said on Tuesday that Ryanair, EasyJet, WizzAir, Volotea, Air Baltic and Fly One had expressed interest in flights from St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, Russia’s fourth largest after Moscow’s three major hubs.

It said the companies had applied for flights from Pulkovo, coded LED by the International Air Transport Association, to 22 countries, including Britain, Germany and France.

Russia will introduce a so-called “Open Skies” regime for the companies for five years, the ministry said, allowing airlines to fly to St Petersburg without requiring the traditional bilateral inter-governmental agreements.

The move follows the introduction of a special electronic visa system for tourists visiting St Petersburg which nationals from 53 countries can take advantage of.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh,; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Ed Osmond)

Wizz Air To Increase Seat Capacity at Budapest Base

September 12, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART AIRCRAFT AND 3 NEW ROUTES LAND IN BUDAPEST

WizzAir,the largest airline in Central and Eastern Europe and Europe’s greenest* airline has today announced the arrival another state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo aircraft at its base in Budapest in June 2020 and the launch of three new routes to European cities from the Hungarian capital. Tickets for the new routes are already on sale and can be booked from only HUF 6,490, and 7,990**, respectively, on wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app.

New daily service to Brussels, four destinations in Ukraine

Brussels Charleroi has been a part of Wizz Air’s network since 2004. From next summer, the airline will also operate a daily service to Brussels Airport, the Belgian’s capital main airport – the airline’s 151 destination –, creating a more direct link with the centre of the European Union for business travellers and diplomats. With its picturesque main square and delightful brasseries, Brussels is an attractive destination for tourists as well.

Hungary’s hometown airline is also expanding towards the East with two flights per week to Lviv, Western Ukraine’s central city, and Kharkiv, the second largest city in the country. As Kyiv has been accessible from Budapest since 2011 and flights to Odessa will launch this October, today’s announcement means that Budapest will be linked by direct flights to all four Wizz Air destinations within Ukraine.

Lviv is one of Ukraine’s most scenic historic towns, with its downtown featured in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The town was one of the multicultural centres of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy under the name Lemberg and has preserved its Central European atmosphere to this day. Today, Lviv is one of the centres of Ukrainian culture with lots of theatres, museums and festivals awaiting visitors. Kharkiv is an interesting destination for admirers of Ukrainian gastronomy and Soviet-style architecture with its magnificent metro stations and the country’s first skyscraper.

16 aircraft in Hungary

With the arrival of the newest A321neo, Wizz Air’s Hungarian fleet expands to 14 aircraft allocated in Budapest, with a further 2 aircraft based in Debrecen. This means the airline’s operations support over 4,000*** indirect local jobs in the country. Apart from the new destinations, Wizz Air will increase its frequency on four of its existing routes to Eindhoven, St. Petersburg, Tel-Aviv and Edinburgh (to be launched this December). With this expansion of capacity, Wizz Air will increase its Hungarian seat capacity to 6.7 million passengers in 2020.

Wizz Air is the “greenest” airline

The new routes will be served by the state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo aircraft of the Budapest base. The airline operates one of the youngest fleets in Europe, with the average age of 4.7 years. As a result, Wizz Air was the airline with the smallest environmental footprint in Europeonce again in August 2019, with only 57.7 grams CO emissions per passenger per kilometre. The company currently has a total of 271 Airbus A321neo, Airbus A321neo and Airbus A321XLR aircraft on order. With the new aircraft, the airline will continue to drive efficiency parallel to further decreasing its environmental footprint by 1/3 for over the next decade. The Airbus A321neo, six of which are already in operation at WIZZ’s Budapest base, incorporates the latest technologies in aviation. It offers a 50 percent reduction in noise footprint, a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption, while also reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 50 percent.

Stephen Jones, Wizz Air Hungary’s managing director said: “Hungary’s hometown airline, Wizz Air remains strongly committed to its country of origin. We are continuously expanding and modernizing our fleet and network in Budapest to provide affordable and high quality travel opportunities to more and more Hungarian passengers. Adding a new, state-of-the-art aircraft to our Budapest fleet and launching three new routes underpins our dedication to Budapest and Hungary and creates more local jobs with the airline and in associated industries, as well as stimulates the local tourism and hospitality industries. The WIZZ team looks forward to welcoming customers old and new on-board our ultra-efficient fleet of Airbus aircraft very soon. And for those looking to turn their passion for travel into a career, we’d be delighted to see you at one of our Wizz Air cabin crew recruitment days, where you can find out more about joining the WIZZ team.”

Ten Killed in Dallas Area Private Plane Crash

July 1, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Ten people were killed on Sunday when their private turboprop airplane crashed into a hangar during takeoff and burst into flames at the municipal airport in Addison, Texas, outside Dallas, an airport official said.

The twin-engine Beechcraft BE-350 King Air was destroyed by fire from the crash, according to Darci Neuzil, deputy director of Addison Airport, a general aviation facility located about 10 miles (17 km) north of downtown Dallas.

She said the plane had been headed for Florida when it took off at about 9 a.m. local time. Nobody on the ground was reported hurt, Neuzil added.

The plane had just lifted off the runway at the south end of the airport when it veered left, dropped its left wing and slammed into the hangar, the Dallas Morning News reported online, citing Addison fire department spokesman Edward Martelle.

There were no survivors among the 10 people who were aboard the aircraft, Neuzil said. Their identities were being kept confidential as authorities worked to notify next of kin.

“It’s a very sad day for Dallas County,” a local judge, Clay Jenkins, told the Dallas Morning News, which reported the plane had been en route to St. Petersburg, Florida. “My prayers are with the families we’re notifying about this tragedy.”

There was no official word on the cause of the crash. CBS News, citing unnamed sources, reported that the plane lost an engine on takeoff.

Video footage of the immediate aftermath showed flames and heavy, dark smoke billowing from the hangar, which according to local media was unoccupied at the time. Still photos posted online also showed a large gash in the side of the building.

Investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board were due to arrive on the scene later in the day, Neuzil told Reuters.

No further details about the circumstances of the crash were immediately available, Neuzil said.

Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Daniel Wallis in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler

Allegiant Announces Aircraft Base in Concord, North Carolina

Russia’s St Petersburg Airport Expects to Host Ryanair, Others in 2020

Wizz Air To Increase Seat Capacity at Budapest Base

Ten Killed in Dallas Area Private Plane Crash

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