Allegiant announces Las Vegas-to-Reno flights

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air will begin flying nonstop between Las Vegas and Reno in February, launching the route with fares that are about half the price of a ticket on Southwest Airlines — unless you add Allegiant’s fees.

The company announced today that it would offer two flights a week, Fridays and Sundays, with jets leaving McCarran International Airport at 10 a.m. and returning those days at 3:30 p.m. The service begins Feb. 1.

The airline is inaugurating the route with $50 one-way fares that must be purchased by Dec. 12 for travel through June 6. Allegiant’s website says the standard fare for the route would be $70.

Allegiant hasn’t listed bag fees for its Las Vegas-Reno service on its website, but charges typically range between $15 to $100 per checked bag and $15 to $50 for a carry-on bag, depending on how the reservation is made.

The lowest fare on Southwest, McCarran’s dominant carrier and the only commercial operator with nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Reno, is $95 one way. Southwest hasn’t given any indication of plans to match Allegiant’s fares, a common competitive strategy in the airline industry.

Southwest doesn’t charge anything extra for up to two bags and doesn’t charge anything for carry-on bags.

Allegiant will use its 166-passenger MD-80 twin-engine jets on the Reno route.

Southwest has an average nine round trips a day between Las Vegas and Reno.