In the summer of 2021, it will be possible to board a plane at Jackson Hole Airport and fly direct to Los Angeles for just $ 59 each way.

For a price of $ 49, you can get to Reno-Tahoe International Airport, possibly the smallest metropolitan area ever connected directly to Teton County, Wyoming by air.

These new budget travel options were introduced courtesy of Allegiant Air, the third new airline to serve Jackson Hole since 2018. The Las Vegas-based airline followed Alaska Airlines and Frontier Airlines, which joined the traditional legacy airlines in the valley: United, American, and Delta. (Frontier suspended its service in the virus-stricken summer of 2020 and has not stated whether it will return.)

Allegiant’s debut flights from Jackson Hole Airport this coming June-August were announced last week, and the news came pretty suddenly.

“Allegiant came together in just a few days,” said Jim Elwood, Jackson Hole Airport director. They called and said, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about it. Will you send us the airport information? ‘We sent it to them and they called back and said,’ We’re coming. ‘ “

This is better to notice than some airlines. Once, Elwood added, an airline did not give the airport any courtesy heads-up, and staff learned about their new airline in connection with the wider publicity.

Allegiant, known as the “ultra-low-cost airline”, will also offer flights twice a week from Jackson to Las Vegas (from US $ 49) and to Mesa Gateway Airport in Phoenix (US $ 59). The airline announced its new Wyoming destination alongside two more new cities and an additional eight routes delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Elwood said there was no local encouragement for Allegiant, from Jackson Hole Air Improvement Resources or anywhere else.

“I certainly think the pandemic had an impact,” said Elwood. “If you look at airports that have seen more activity after the pandemic, most are outdoor markets and airlines are paying attention to these trend lines and responding accordingly.”

The numbers support the claim. In the United States, commercial air travel decreased 61% in 2020 compared to 2019. Jackson Hole Airport, however, fared relatively better, losing only 37% of its passenger numbers from a year earlier.

An Allegiant executive in a statement suggested that outdoor recreation was a driving factor in his airline’s interest in expansion.

“The three cities we’re adding to our network – Key West, Portland, and Jackson Hole – are gateways to some of the most scenic destinations in the United States, including national parks and other sought-after outdoor attractions,” said Drew Wells, Allegiant’s vice president of revenue as well Planning.

Though Frontier is out of the picture for now, Allegiant is expanding budget flight options that until recently were alien to a market serving the wealthiest per capita county in the United States and an increasingly expensive place to visit.

“It is definitely something new and different for our market and we will be excited to see how it goes,” said Elwood. “We definitely welcome the new connections that they will bring.”

At this point in the year, it is unclear what the rest of Jackson Hole Airport’s summer flight schedule will look like, Elwood said. The 2020-21 winter flight schedule was exceeded at 13 destinations, highlighted by a new flight from Charlotte, North Carolina on American Airlines.