Allegiant Air Begins Nonstop Service from OAK

-- First-Time Ever Service between Oakland and Bellingham, Washington, a Gateway to British Columbia; Two Weekly Flights --

Oakland, Calif. (Feb. 2, 2009) -- Allegiant Air begins nonstop service between Oakland International Airport (OAK) and Bellingham International Airport (BLI), a gateway to British Columbia, Canada, today. This important new service marks the first-ever nonstop flights between OAK and BLI, located in Washington State.

"For the first time, nonstop flights are available from Oakland to Bellingham, Washington," said Steve Grossman, director of aviation for the Port of Oakland, which owns and operates OAK. "Now, travelers have a convenient link between the San Francisco Bay Area and Bellingham, a key gateway to Vancouver and the growing Pacific Northwest region. The service is timely as the number of visitors from Canada to the United States has increased significantly in recent months and the flights will have a positive impact on tourism-related industries."

Low-cost Allegiant moved its flight operations to OAK from San Francisco International Airport, citing the East Bay airport's lower operating costs, accessibility to downtown San Francisco, and on-time reliability. Allegiant is the only air carrier to offer nonstop flights between the Bay Area and Bellingham, Washington. The airline is using 150-seat MD-80 jet aircraft for the approximate two-hour flight on Monday and Friday as follows: