HANOVER TWP., LEHIGH COUNTY, Pa. — Lehigh Valley International Airport’s growth is increasingly tied to the success of Allegiant Airlines, airport officials said Monday, after the carrier announced it was suspending flights to Denver over the winter.
Officials announced Monday that Allegiant Airlines will discontinue flights from LVIA to Denver International Airport in November, with plans to reinstate service in spring, Airport Authority Business Development Director Darren Betters said.
The route is a casualty of extended delays to Boeing’s 737-MAX production, officials said. Already-years-long backlogs have stretched further still as the company’s plans to ramp up production stall.
“That bodes well that maybe we'll be on it next year when they decide to continue to add service.”Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority Business Development Director Darren Betters
With aircraft in high demand, Allegiant is prioritizing shorter routes to allow more flights, officials said.
At the same time, Betters expressed hope that Delta Airlines service to their Detroit hub will return next year.
“We met with Delta last month and I was told that we were probably the last airport removed from the schedule,” he said.
“That bodes well that maybe we'll be on it next year when they decide to continue to add service.”
The number of flights and passengers traveling through LVIA climbed last month, notching the airport’s best May since 2004.
'Where growth to continue to come from'
The airport’s future largely depends on Allegiant Air, the ultra-low-cost carrier that accounted for about 60% of the passengers traveling through the airport in 2023.
“Of all the low-cost carriers, they are probably the strongest, most well-positioned, most cash on hand," Betters said.
"They have the ability to grow. That’s where our growth has come from. That’s where our growth is going to continue to come from.”
Allegiant and other similar airlines are outgrowing their legacy counterparts such as Delta and United, he said, situating LVIA for growth in turn.
But the company faces obstacles, chiefly buying new aircraft to grow overall capacity, officials said.
“Of all the low-cost carriers, they are probably the strongest, most well-positioned, most cash on hand. They have the ability to grow.”Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority Business Development Director Darren Betters
Allegiant awaits 50 new Boeing 737-MAX aircraft, and initially expected to get 25 this year. Amid recent high-profile failures, Boeing’s plans to accelerate MAX production are on hold, extending an already years-long backlog.
The airline’s current all-Airbus fleet also has presented problems. Some of the fleet’s Pratt and Whitney geared turbofan engines required inspections to look for signs of metal fatigue, taking capacity offline.
At the same time, a nationwide shortage of pilots is most acutely affecting the regional carriers such as SkyWest and Endeavor that serve small airports such as ABE on behalf of larger airlines.
Where main-line carriers hired more than 7,000 new pilots last year, regional airlines lost more than 500 — about 5% of their workforce.
The labor shortage also has evolved, becoming “not so much a pilot shortage now as a captain shortage,” Betters said.
Moving from the First Officer position to become a pilot in command means resetting the clock on their seniority, which determines who gets the first pick of shifts.
With a recent increase to co-pilots’ wages, it often is more appealing to decline the promotion.
“It’s a work-life balance thing,” Betters said. “These guys are saying, ‘You know what? Yeah, I can make more money by moving to the left seat, but I can stay here with good seniority. I get my choice of the routes. I get my choice of the schedules.’”
