ILM : Flights Taking Off to Orlando

By Pete Biello

Wilmington, NC – Non-stop flights to Orlando will take off out of Wilmington starting in April.

Allegiant Air will start service on April 4th to the Orlando-Sanford Airport, located between Orlando and Daytona Beach.

The low-cost carrier says it will start with two flights a week to Orlando.

Allegiant Air's John Fenyes says it picked Wilmington because it fits into the airline's strategy of linking smaller markets to larger ones.

We usually star with two or three flights a week and as demand calls we increase that to three, four and some markets we're seven days a week.

Allegiant Air says 150-seat planes will take off on Mondays and Fridays, with flights taking off at 4:10pm, landing in Orlando at 5:40pm.

ILM Director Jon Rosborough says despite a slowing economy he hopes there's enough demand to support this flight to a vacation destination.

We have to show that people will use this service. And the more people get on the planes than they're able to make a little more money and keep the service going. If the people don't utilize the service, then it's easier for them to take their planes and move them somewhere else.

The airline already offers non-stop flights to Orlando out of Kinston and Greensboro. Click here to view its route map.