By Zach Cooke
Avelo Announces Delaware Route Expansion
On Thursday, Avelo Airlines announced yet another route expansion, growing its Wilmington, Del. base from five destinations served to 14. The Houston-based carrier continues its aggressive expansion strategy across the eastern seaboard and in the Delaware Valley, almost tripling service out of Wilmington just three months after beginning service out of the city.
The carrier announced that new non-stop routes will span five states and complement services to warm weather destinations which began in February of this year. New cities will include:
- Charleston, S.C.
- Daytona Beach, Fla.
- Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.
- Melbourne, Fla.
- Myrtle Beach, S.C.
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Savannah, Ga. / Hilton Head, S.C.
- Wilmington, N.C.
The carrier will operate all routes to the cities listed above, with the exception of flights to and from Myrtle Beach, twice weekly. Myrtle Beach will be operated three times weekly. All routes will begin towards the end of June.
Operating flights two days a week instead of daily allows the carrier to operate to more destinations using fewer aircraft. Avelo will operate to all 14 destinations out of Wilmington using two Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The carrier currently has one deployed in the base, bringing in an additional type in June to aid in expansion.
Similar to Breeze’s Charleston to Charleston route, Avelo will operate a flight between two cities with the same name, Wilmington, Delaware to Wilmington, North Carolina.
The expansion also deepens Avelo’s impact with smaller cities that the carrier just announced service to, such as Daytona Beach and Melbourne, Florida. Avelo has yet to begin service to either city, yet is banking on strong demand, adding additional flights.
The Houston-based carrier has reported strong numbers operating out of Wilmington so far. Since the inaugural flight out of Wilmington on February 1st, the carrier has reported flying over 25,000 customers to and from the city according to their most recent press release. Situated between Philadelphia and Baltimore, alongside Southern New Jersey, the carrier has decided to use Wilmington’s New Castle Airport which is a smaller alternative to the bigger hubs in surrounding cities. Based on passenger numbers, this is working well for Avelo and fits into their business model.
The carrier is also the only airline offering service to the state of Delaware. In its history, multiple airlines have operated in and out of New Castle airport, most recently Frontier Airlines in 2021 and 2022. This was a re-entrance into the market after the carrier had initially suspended service in 2016 sighting an inability to make a sustainable profit.
Frontier only made a brief stint in its return to the state, flying for a little over a year between Wilmington and Orlando, Florida before yet again suspending operations to the airport. Throughout drops in airline coverage, Delaware was the only state in the United States without airline service, most recently occurring from June 2022 to January 2023.
Avelo, however, seems to have cracked the code thus far operating out of Delaware. Showing that the company will continue building upon its initial foundation in Wilmington, the carrier announced it will also be adding at least 35 new jobs in the hub, growing its New Castle operation to over 100 employees.
