Allegiant to receive $100,000 grant to offer Syracuse-Myrtle Beach flights

SYRACUSE — Allegiant Air will receive a $100,000 federal grant to help it offer nonstop flights between Syracuse and Myrtle Beach, S.C., starting in late May.

The money will come from a $500,000 Small Community Air Service Development grant that Syracuse Hancock International Airport received from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2010 to help attract more airlines, says Christina Callahan, executive director of the airport.

She says that $100,000 in grant funds will be left after the payment to Allegiant.

The airline also received a $690,000 grant last year when it started offering twice-weekly service between Syracuse and the St. Petersburg–Clearwater International Airport in Clearwater, Fla. The same federal grant provided $300,000, while the balance of the funds came from the airport’s own airline-incentive program, Callahan tells CNYBJ.com.

Callahan says Syracuse needs to provide such incentives to airlines to compete with other Upstate airports in attracting air service.

“I would challenge anyone to find a city of our size that is not offering incentives like this. Communities like Syracuse all across the country have these programs in place because we want the airlines to be successful,” she says.

Callahan adds that in the end, the grant funding will run out and the air routes still have to be successful on their own from a business perspective.

The Syracuse to Myrtle Beach service is among 12 new seasonal, nonstop routes that Allegiant Air announced.

Allegiant Air is a unit of Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ: ALGT).

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com