Tomorrow isn’t just another Thursday at the North Central West Virginia Airport. Instead, it’s a big day that likely thousands of people are glad has come about.

 

Starting tomorrow, the resumption of the direct flight service from Bridgeport to the Orlando area through the Orlando-Sanford International Airport will resume. Allegiant Airlines, the company that has provided the highly successful service from Bridgeport, took their planes off line for all flights for basic maintenance.

 

“We’re ready to be back in business with Allegiant,” said NCWV Airport Director Rick Rock. “We want those traveling and using that service to know they’ll get the same great deals and they’ll be heading to the same great destination in Orlando.”

 

They’ll also see a few more things that Rock is hoping will make the flying experience more enjoyable. Rock said the security process where individuals taking the flights line up should be “more accommodating.” He said the goal is to have everyone enjoy every part of the flight experience in Bridgeport to hopefully guarantee good word of mouth advertising and for individuals to repeat using the service.

 

“We’ll be doing some construction over the new few months so we hope that it doesn’t cause too many issues if any at all,” Rock said.

 

The good news for Allegiant and the airport is that the early numbers are already looking good. For Allegiant to continue its service it expects its host cities to have booking capacity at 90 percent on each flight. When flight service ended in August, the goal was met.

 

“It’s early with the bookings, but we’re already trending higher than when we first started out,” said Rock. “We’ll have more than 100 people actually coming in on that first flight and we’ll be over 100 going out. That first flight we had when we start was right around 85 people. The numbers are up and we anticipate that trend to continue.”

 

Rock said there’s a reason for that expectation.

 

“People realize that Allegiant is the service in this area that they want to utilize to go to Orlando and that they can be confident the flights are going to be a positive experience for them,” said Rock. “Once someone makes their travel plans, we want them to expect that we’ll take care of the rest.”

 

Allegiant uses an Airbus 320 that seats 166 passengers. Already, without the first flight off the ground, Rock said October is booked at just above 70 percent and he knows the numbers will rise.

 

Flights on Allegiant depart Bridgeport every Thursday and Sunday. The departure time both days is 10:50 a.m.

 

"We're glad to be back in the game," Rock said.

 

Click HERE to book Allegiant on the NCWV Airport's Web site.

 

INFORMATION, PROVIDED BY NCWV AIRPORT, TO CONSIDER WHEN FLYING ALLEGIANT:

 

- Check-in and suggested time to arrive at the airport is two hours prior to departure. Passengers are STRONGLY encouraged to show up at the airport with plenty of time.

 

- The check-in/ bag drop desk has moved across the terminal. This will make it easier for check-in and then go straight to security screening. It’s more ergonomic with the new setup. The Allegiant check-in/ bag drop desk closes 30 minutes prior to departure, no exceptions.

 

- Boarding passes can be printed out at home up to 24 hours before the flight. Also, passengers with smart phones can download the Allegiant app to have their boarding pass on their phone. The first two options are free of charge, however if you choose to have your boarding pass printed out at the Airport it will incur a $5 charge.

 

- Each passenger is entitled to one personal item that is free of charge (purse, backpack, etc). Passengers may not have more than personal bag due to FAA rules and weight restrictions. Passengers can purchase a carryon bag for $13 each way and a checked bag that weighs less than 40 lbs. is $20 each way. If passengers do not pre-purchase bags there is a charge at the Airport.

 

- The flight scheduled has been confirmed all the way until May thus far. The flights will remain in the morning through May. There is a snack bar that serves food and beverages available at the airport once the passengers pass through security. Also Parker’s on the Runway restaurant is available at 11 a.m. for passengers arriving from Orlando, or those wanting to watch the planes.