Peoria Int'l Airport Air Service Detail and Analysis - July 2021

 

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 for existing service - 

Las Vegas, NV - March 3, 2004
St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL - December 13, 2006
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ - October 27, 2007
Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers, FL - June 28, 2012
Orlando (Sanford), FL - November 14, 2014 (See Note 1)
Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, FL - May 24, 2017
Nashville, TN - June 4, 2020
Sarasota/Bradenton, FL - May 27, 2021
Denver, CO - May 28, 2021
Rapid City, SD - August 4-14, 2021 (four roundtrips scheduled for the season)

(1) Present service is the third incarnation. Flights began May 26, 2005 but were dropped that December due to weak load factors. Service resumed November 16, 2007 but was suspended again at the conclusion of the 2008 summer season due to rising fuel prices. 

NOTE: Allegiant Air also offered Fort Lauderdale nonstops from December 13, 2007 through May 2008. Service was suspended due to rising fuel prices, though this was considered a "test" route. 

Although service is low frequency and limited to vacation destinations, Allegiant Air's offerings are the closest thing Peoria has to Ozark Air Lines' multiple destinations and flights from the late 1960s to the cutbacks of the early 1980s. 

Schedules for July 2021 (see below) show that almost all flights are being operated with the Airbus A320. Schedules don't distinguish between 177-seat A320s or 186-seat A320SEOs. Las Vegas flights still use the smaller 156-seat A319. 

FUTURE DESTINATIONS? Peoria Int'l Airport has polled travelers on Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Los Angeles and Myrtle Beach. The first one was added, presumably due to a positive response to the poll. The other two would be nice to have. Restoration of Fort Lauderdale nonstops would be nice to have as well, though it is unclear whether there is sufficient demand. Central Illinois residents seem to prefer Florida's Gulf Coast. Other than that, perhaps newer focus cities such as Austin, Texas, Newark, New Jersey and New Orleans, Louisiana are possibilities for the not-too-distant future?

AMERICAN EAGLE (Envoy Airlines, Mesa Airlines, PSA Airlines)
Business travel appears to be returning to Peoria. In fact, Airport Director Gene Olson told WMBD TV-31 on May 12 that seat availability on American Airlines over the next month was just 13 percent below 2019, when PIA handled a record number of passengers (689,416).

July schedules show service has been mostly restored to pre-COVID restriction levels, with two daily nonstops to each of three American Airlines hubs. 

- PSA Airlines offers two daily roundtrips between Peoria and Charlotte with 65 (or 67) seat Canadair CRJ700 aircraft

- Envoy Airlines provides two daily roundtrips between Peoria and Chicago-O'Hare on 50-seat Embraer 145s. (There were three pre-COVID restrictions.)

- Mesa Airlines flies two roundtrips daily between Peoria and Dallas/Ft. Worth on 76-seat Canadair CRJ900s. 

If and when business travel returns to pre-COVID restriction levels, I expect American Eagle to resume a third roundtrip to Chicago-O'Hare. 

UNITED EXPRESS (Air Wisconsin, GoJet)
Twice-daily service to Chicago-O'Hare is being offered at present. Through June, Republic Airways is operating a RON (Remain-OverNight) flight with a 76-seat Embraer 175. Starting in July, GoJet will be operating a Canadair CRJ550 in place of the Republic flight. The CRJ550 is a 50-seat plane based on the CRJ700. Air Wisconsin operates a late-morning turnaround with a 50-seat CRJ200. 

Like with American Eagle, frequencies will be added as business travel returns to pre-COVID restriction levels. In winter 2020, that was five weekday roundtrips

FUTURE AIR SERVICE
In addition to that discussed above, there is widespread hope that Delta [Connection] eventually resumes Peoria-Atlanta nonstops. This will require influence from Caterpillar, which generates the vast majority of area business travel (foreign and domestic). Delta must also recognize a need to compete with American and United Airlines for area passengers.

It won't happen before 2022. Delta probably thinks that it can handle any Central Illinois travelers through Bloomington-Normal's Central Illinois Regional Airport from which it offers flights to both Atlanta and Detroit. For now, that is correct. 

If Peoria Int'l Airport shows that it can beat 2019's record 689,416 passengers in 2022, I can see some interest by Delta in returning to the Peoria market. But PIA will have to support larger jets. Last September, Delta Air Lines noted in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission plans to phase out all of its regional partners' 50-seat CRJ200s by the end of 2023. That means the smallest jet available for Peoria-Atlanta service will be the 65-seat CRJ700. 

FLIGHT SCHEDULES, ROUTE MAP
Below is a schedule for airline service in July 2021. The source for American Eagle and United Express flights are those carrier's online schedules. Flightmapper is the source for Allegiant Air schedules. One note about the latter: Allegiant Air literally schedules the same flights at different times by a few minutes. Few flights operate at the same times more than once a month. Thus, there are numerous entries, but in reality only a small number of flights. July schedules show 24 weekly departures. There are four on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; three on Wednesday and Sunday and two on Tuesday.

In summary, Allegiant Air offers 24 weekly departures (two to four daily) to Denver, Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando-Sanford, Phoenix-Mesa, Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers, Sarasota/Bradenton and St. Petersburg/Clearwater. American Eagle offers six daily departures to Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare and Dallas/Ft. Worth. United Express offers two daily departures to Chicago-O'Hare. Daily departures by all three carriers thus totals ten to twelve. (See below for a current route map.)

- David P. Jordan