Kristine Guerra

kristine.guerra@indystar.com

Starting in February, Indianapolis International Airport will have a new airline that boasts nonstop flights to four popular vacation spots, airport officials announced Wednesday.

Allegiant Air will have flights from Indianapolis to Las Vegas and three locations in Florida: Orlando, Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida. It's a change welcomed by an airport that, because of airline mergers, had gone from having 13 air carriers to one that's on pace to having just six, with AirTran Airways merging with Southwest Airlines, and US Airways with American Airlines.

"We're getting another airline at a time when airlines are disappearing," airport spokesman Carlo Bertolini said. "This is good news, especially against the context of an industry that's been consolidating and removing consumer choice. Consolidation means fewer choices for consumers, upward pressure on airfares and less competition."

Airport officials said the change will bring the number of scheduled nonstop destinations from Indianapolis to 37, the highest total since 2009. Bertolini said the airport averages about 35 nonstop destinations a day. Last year, daily nonstop flights fell from 46 to 30.

Starting Feb. 11, Allegiant Airlines will operate nonstop flights from Indianapolis to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport near Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Orlando Sanford International Airport and Punta Gorda Airport, which is halfway between Fort Myers and Sarasota.

Justin Ralenkotter, spokesman for Allegiant Air, said being in Indianapolis goes with the airline's business model, which revolves around taking people from small and midsize markets to popular destinations. The Las Vegas-based low-cost airline is in more than 90 U.S. cities.

"We felt that there's an opportunity in Indianapolis, and we really wanted to come in and offer an alternative to local travelers to get to their favorite sun spots," Ralenkotter said.

Mark Moorhead, president of The Travel Agent in Carmel, sees the addition as a positive change, partly because Indianapolis doesn't have that many nonstop flights to leisure destinations.

"And that has a big appeal to the public," Moorhead said. "Any amount of lift that's additional for Indianapolis is a positive thing. I think there'll be quite a few people taking advantage of it."

Ralenkotter said introductory airfares will be on sale starting Wednesday. The cheapest are to Orlando at $55 one way. Tickets to Tampa Bay, Southwest Florida and Las Vegas are $65, $75 and $85 one way, respectively.

The new flights will not be daily. Ralenkotter said flights to Florida will be operated four times a week and flights to Las Vegas will be three times a week.

Moorhead said it's too early to say whether the presence of Allegiant Air will cause legacy air carriers such as United and Delta to drop their prices to remain competitive.

"Legacy air carriers are huge organizations," Moorhead said. "I'm not sure that they believe it would affect them that much out of the Indianapolis market."

But if history were to repeat itself, legacy airlines might want to pay close attention. Southwest, now the world's largest low-cost carrier, was very much like Allegiant before its expansion, Moorhead said. Legacy airlines didn't consider the Dallas-based airline a major threat, he said.

"Allegiant will always remain less expensive in order to be super competitive," he said. "Whether the major carriers will reduce their fares enough to make a difference to the traveling public, that's a question yet to be determined."

Star reporter Jeff Swiatek contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.