Peoria Station

  It is time for my annual update on local airline service.  Normally, a summer month, usually July, is best for this update. I nearly skipped this annual exercise for 2020 due to unfortunate events, but after some clearer thinking, I chose one week in December for analysis. So in a bid to return to normalcy for 2021, I again chose July for the update. Save for the loss of Delta Connection service a year ago, July 2021 is the closest to normal as possible. Lets first look at changes by carrier -  ALLEGIANT AIR Peoria's Low Cost Carrier keeps expanding service options. Last year, it went ahead with Nashville nonstops, despite all of the "pandemic" panic and lockdowns. In 2021, it added (or will add) no fewer than three more nonstop destinations - Sarasota/Bradenton, Denver and Rapid City. As a result PIA will briefly offer ten nonstop destinations on Allegiant Air.  I think it is appropriate to review the carrier's history with Peoria. First, here are inaugural dates f

I will soon be able to create more blog posts. Expect in the next few days the annual update on Peoria Int'l Airport air service.  Meanwhile, you can ask questions here. If I don't have an answer, I'll find one.  - David P. Jordan

Frontier Airlines will offer Las Vegas nonstops from Bloomington-Normal's Central Illinois Regional Airport (CIRA) Starting August 12. Service will be offered on Thursdays and Sundays using 168-seat Airbus A-320 aircraft. Presently, Frontier offers Denver and Orlando nonstops thrice-weekly on a seasonal basis. Service to Las Vegas will be seasonal as well. Frontier's new flights are not the first time CIRA offered Las Vegas nonstops. AirTran Airways offered quad-weekly service from August 15, 2007 through April 8, 2008 on 137-seat Boeing 737-700s. Service was suspended until August that year due to rising fuel prices, but in fact never returned. It should also be noted that CIRA handled 183,190 passengers in 2020. This figure was down 56.5 percent from 2019 volume.  - David P. Jordan