APPLETON (NBC 26) — The Appleton International Airport (ATW) welcomed the first nonstop route to the west coast Thursday.
The new route, flown by Allegiant Air, offers a direct connection between Appleton and Portland, Ore., and kicked off with a departing flight Thursday morning, and the first arrival from Portland shortly before 3:00 p.m. Thursday.
The route becomes the 11th nonstop Allegiant offers out of Appleton, and airline officials described customer reaction to the new route as "phenomenal," and said flight 3871, the first to fly the route from west to east, was nearly full.
Jesse Funk is ATW's business development director, and says he thinks the new route will make life easier on travelers while bringing a lot of new business to Appleton.
"It's like building a highway in the sky," Funk said. "Anytime you get a new flight, it's more economic development, more people coming into the area… it's just easier to get to Appleton and that's great for everybody."
While the route is currently scheduled to run June through early September, Caius Castro, who was aboard the route's first flight to Appleton, says he loved the new route, and hopes it eventually runs year-round.
“We’ve met a lot of people who live in Portland and are from Wisconsin," he said, "I think I speak for all of them when I say this is a great option to have.”
