Allegiant to pull out of Vermont this spring

Allegiant Air will pull out of Burlington in the spring, ending service to the state of Vermont.

The carrier currently offers twice-weekly nonstop service between Burlington and Orlando’s secondary Sanford Airport, but those flights will end March 4. Allegiant had been flying from the airport since 2014.

“Burlington International Airport has had an outstanding relationship with Allegiant over these past three years, and will continue to work with its team to see if there are any other options available to bring Allegiant Air back to Burlington,” Burlington International Airport chief Gene Richards says in a statement to the Burlington Free Press.

Allegiant flew about 12,000 passengers a year on its flights from Burlington to Florida.

While Allegiant may be leaving Vermont, it will keep a presence in the region. The "ultra low-cost carrier" (ULCC) will continue to serve the city of Plattsburgh, located in New York state about 35 miles south of the Canadian border. Plattsburgh International Airport is about 40 miles from Burlington across Lake Champlain.

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From Buffalo to Bellingham, U.S. airports court Canadian fliers

Plattsburgh has only about 20,000 residents, but its airport offers non-stop flights to destinations like Fort Lauderdale; Orlando/Sanford; St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Those flights -- offered by either Allegiant or rival ULCC Spirit Airlines -- are kept afloat in large part with bargain-seeking Canadians from greater Montreal, Canada's second-largest city that's just 70 miles away on Interstate-quality highways.

Burlington also draws a fair number of Canadian travelers, though it's farther drive from the border than Plattsburgh.

The airports are among several on the U.S. side of the border where passenger counts have been bolstered by Canadians looking for cheaper fares and non-stop flights to popular U.S. destinations. Fares on domestic flights within the U.S. typically are cheaper than international trans-border flights from Canada, low enough to tempt many Canadians to drive across the border.

Plattsburgh is perhaps the most upfront among the USA's border airports about its efforts to draw Canadians. The English and French-language website for Plattsburgh International proudly displays its motto, “Montreal’s U.S. airport.”

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