SANTA MARIA - A big, new chapter in commercial aviation at the Santa Maria Airport begins Friday afternoon, October 19.
That's when Allegiant Air will fly in a Boeing 757 jet to familiarize the air and ground crews with Santa Maria Airport, its new extended runway and the ground equipment required for the larger aircraft.
The 757 is Boeing's largest, single-aisle passenger aircraft and can carry a maximum of nearly 300 passengers and crew.
Allegiant Air is scheduled to begin non-stop 757 flights from Santa Maria to Honolulu on November 17, 2012, the first service to Hawaii in the history of the Santa Maria Airport.
Allegiant is expected to fly the 757 into Santa Maria Airport for its test run on Friday, October 19 between 1:00pm and 1:15pm and then depart back to Las Vegas at about 2:30pm.
