Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air will open a new base in Grand Rapids, Mich., in April to position itself for East Coast growth.
Allegiant will base two 150-seat MD-80 jets at Gerald R. Ford International Airport and hire 60 pilots, flight attendants, customer service agents, ground handlers and aircraft technicians.
The move, announced Tuesday, will enable Allegiant Grand Rapids to grow to 34 flights a week with new service to Myrtle Beach, S.C. The airline already offered nonstop flights from Grand Rapids to Orlando, St. Petersburg and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as well as to Mesa, Ariz., and Las Vegas.
The new base, scheduled to open April 27, is expected to be similar to Allegiant’s operation in Bellingham, Wash., where the company based jets to support flights to several western destinations.
Allegiant also announced double-digit percentage increases in passengers in January over the same month last year.
The company said it carried 388,757 passengers on scheduled flights last month, 16.7 percent more than in January 2009.
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