Southwest Airlines and budget carrier Allegiant Air will be add more flights into Reno-Tahoe International Airport for the 2007/2008 ski season. The flights will make skiing and snowboarding at Squaw Valley more accessible to all Americans from cost to cost.

Reno, NV - In addition to new ExpressJet flights from Long Beach, Ontario (Calif.), Spokane and Tuscon announced last week, this is the first ski season for new flights into Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RTIA) aboard Southwest Airlines and low-cost carrier Allegiant Air, making Lake Tahoe skiing and snowboarding more accessible to vacation travelers than ever before.

RTIA is the nearest gateway airport to Alpine Meadows, Diamond Peak, Heavenly, Homewood, Kirkwood, Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, Squaw Valley, and Sugar Bowl, as well as a host of smaller Lake Tahoe-area ski slopes. “Air service plays a key role in any tourist destination and skiers want convenient non-stop service from their home town to their winter destination,” explains John Wagnon, Heavenly’s vice president of marketing. “Lake Tahoe is one of the top snowsports destinations in North America. It’s a natural response to introduce these non-stop flights to make our destination resort more accessible to winter travelers.”

Beginning in November, 2007, Southwest Airlines will add direct, one-stop, same-plane service to Reno from Baltimore/Washington D.C. through Chicago. In addition to providing the new Baltimore/Washington D.C.-to-RTIA direct flight, this schedule will also help improve load factors on the Chicago-to-RTIA route.

Two daily non-stop flights from San Diego launched by Southwest in March, 2007 have received a great response. The San Diego market, which features at least 160,000 travelers per year between Reno and San Diego, was RTIA’s largest unserved market and RTIA’s sixth-largest market overall.

Low-cost airline Allegiant Air, LLC began non-stop jet service between Bellingham, Wash. and RTIA in May, 2007. With three flights offered weekly, this is the only non-stop service between the two cities. “Allegiant’s new service to Bellingham is truly a natural fit for the Reno-Tahoe region,” said Krys Bart, executive director of Reno-Tahoe International Airport. “Residents of the Reno-Tahoe area and the Pacific Northwest share a love for the outdoors and we will enjoy helping connect our two spectacular regions through this great new service. Also, with the Winter Olympics coming to Vancouver, B.C. in 2010, this flight will be an ideal connection for our passionate winter sports fans to attend that spectacle.”

The Reno-Tahoe International Airport is located 40 minutes from the north shore of Lake Tahoe and an hour’s drive from the lake’s south shore. www.firsttracksonline.com

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