CLEVELAND, Ohio – Allegiant Air, which has dramatically reduced its service from the Cleveland airport in recent months, is adding a new destination: Sarasota, Florida.
The new route starts April 4 and will run twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays. The airline is running an introductory sale on the route, with one-way fares as low as $55 if purchased by Wednesday.
Sarasota, on the west coast of Florida, is located about midway between Punta Gorda/Fort Myers and St. Pete/Clearwater, two other destinations that Allegiant flies to from Cleveland.
Southbound flights from Cleveland leave at 2:50 p.m., arriving in Sarasota at 5:12 p.m.; northbound flights depart Sarasota at 11:45 a.m., arriving in Cleveland at 2:05 p.m.
Interestingly, Frontier Airlines, a low-cost carrier like Allegiant, is also offering new service between Cleveland and Sarasota, announced in August. That service begins Dec. 10 and also is twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.
Clevelanders haven’t had nonstop service to Sarasota since 2008.
Allegiant’s announcement is part of a broader expansion in Sarasota. The airline Tuesday announced new service to the Florida destination from a dozen cities, including Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.
Allegiant said the addition of Sarasota brings the number of destinations served from Cleveland to 11. However, on its website, the airline is only selling flights to six destinations: Myrtle Beach, Orlando/Sanford, Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, Savannah/Hilton Head, St. Pete/Clearwater and Sarasota.
In late summer, the airline said it was temporarily reducing its flights from Cleveland, as it replaces its aging fleet of airplanes. Dropped from the roster: Fort Lauderdale and Destin, Florida; New Orleans, Austin, and Phoenix.
It’s unclear when those routes will be reinstated.
The airline was the target of a stinging report last spring by “60 Minutes,” which focused on the carrier’s questionable safety record. Of particular concern: the airline’s reliance on aging McDonnell Douglas MD-80 planes, which Allegiant is in the process of replacing with an all-Airbus fleet.