Allegiant will resume flights from Cedar Rapids to Los Angeles

CEDAR RAPIDS - Travelers will be able to fly nonstop between Cedar Rapids to Los Angeles beginning Wednesday, June 3, when Allegiant Air resumes seasonal service.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant will offer two weekly flights to Los Angeles through the summer. Flights are scheduled for Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.

Allegiant offered similar service last summer that ended on Sept. 8.

'The Los Angeles flights were exceptional. They outperformed Allegiant's predictions,” said Heather Wilson, director of marketing and communication for The Eastern Iowa Airport.

Allegiant has declined to offer the L.A. flights throughout the year, saying the market has been very seasonal for the ultra-low cost carrier.

Allegiant has said it must balance the cost of gate and landing fees at Los Angeles International Airport with the revenue from travelers using the air service.

Eastern Iowans using the seasonal flights to L.A. live primarily in urban areas, while those flying Allegiant to Las Vegas, Orlando Sanford, Phoenix-Mesa, St. Petersburg/Tampa and Punta Gorda/Fort Myers come more broaadly from urban and rural areas.

The airport has added a boarding bridge to the lower concourse, enabling passengers on Allegiant and Frontier Air to board and leave aircraft without being exposed to the elements.

The $46 million remodeling of the airport passenger terminal includes an expansion of the B concourse planned for 2017. It will add two permanent boarding bridges, which should relieve congestion on the C concourse.