Allegiant recently kicked off its Dodge High Fares campaign and is giving away a free round-trip ticket each week through August at dodgehighfares.com.
In the Dodge High Fares campaign, Allegiant is asking Santa Maria residents to tell the company what they would dodge with a free vacation.
Allegiant also reported that since it first arrived in Santa Maria in 2006 with service to Las Vegas, the number of travelers has increased dramatically, while the average fare has dropped.
Comparing the four quarters prior to Allegiant’s first flight with the most recent four quarters, total passengers traveling from Santa Maria Airport to destinations served by Allegiant increased more than 1,000 percent, a company spokesman said.
During the same period, according to the data supplied by the Department of Transportation, the average airfare decreased by more than 55 percent, the spokesman said.
Last year, Allegiant introduced seasonal nonstop service from Santa Maria to Honolulu.
July 12, 2013 Staff report