Avelo Airlines Expands Orlando Flights, Goal A Million Visitors A Year

Avelo Airways (AveloAir.com) simply opened its third U.S. base at Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO). The younger low-fare airline says its purpose is to fly a couple of million guests into Orlando yearly.

Avelo launched operations in April of 2021, the primary new U.S. airline in 15 years. It started with three Boeing 737 plane and new flight attendants who quarantined collectively to coach throughout the pandemic., Avelo has thus far weathered COVID-19 and large gasoline worth will increase. It now serves 25 locations throughout the U.S.

(For extra on how Avelo saved rising throughout the pandemic, see the Forbes Q and A with CEO Andrew Levy.)

Whereas the airline remains to be comparatively small, it claims a flight reliability file bigger airways would possibly envy. Since launching 14 months in the past, Avelo has cancelled lower than 1% of its flights.

With the enlargement of its Orlando base, the airline is including nonstop flights to Southern Connecticut, Washington, DC and Wilmington, North Carolina. Over the following 12 months, Avelo plans to fly to fifteen nonstop locations from Orlando.

Avelo is flying 5 days per week from Orlando to Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Airport (BWI) by August 21, 2022. One-way introductory fares begin at $59.

Avelo can also be launching seasonal service three days per week to Wilmington Worldwide Airport (ILM) from Orlando by November 9, 2022. One-way introductory fares additionally begin at $59.

The brand new locations be a part of Avelo’s common service between Orlando and Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN). Avelo says that Tweed is Southern Connecticut’s most handy airport, saving passengers an arduous journey to New York’s LaGuardia or JFK. Avelo now flies to New Haven from its Orlando base to 3 occasions per day. One-way introductory fares begin at $69.

“Our new base will allow Avelo to serve extra locations, add extra flights, function extra airplanes, fly extra clients and make use of extra crewmembers in Orlando,” Avelo Airways Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy mentioned. With the Florida financial system rising, Levy notes that “Avelo’s quickly increasing presence right here shall be a big supply of latest guests to Orlando, creating an financial influence throughout the area.”

Avelo’s base construction differs from the hub mannequin utilized by different airways. In contrast to typical airline “hubs” that join passengers between spoke cities, Avelo flies its clients nonstop from its three “bases” (Orlando, Burbank, and New Haven) and the locations served from them. For passengers, there aren’t any connections to overlook, as a result of each flight is direct to its vacation spot.

As Avelo flights begin and finish day by day at their respective bases, crewmembers can sleep at dwelling every evening as a substitute of in inns. The bottom mannequin additionally permits mechanics to examine each plane every night when it returns dwelling.

The airline will initially base three Boeing 737 jetliners at MCO, together with one 147-seat 737-700 and two 189-seat 737-800s. Avelo’s present systemwide fleet consists of 10 Boeing 737s, increasing to fifteen plane by early 2023.

Avelo employs 200 pilots and flight attendants. The airline anticipates hiring a whole bunch extra, lots of whom shall be primarily based in Orlando.

The airline says the brand new base will create jobs in areas like customer support, technical operations, and upkeep, in addition to pilots and flight attendants. The bottom is anticipated to generate $250 million in short-term financial influence in Higher Orlando. Over the following 5 years, the bottom could deliver $1 billion in regional financial influence.

With the announcement of the brand new base, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer mentioned, “We sit up for seeing Avelo develop and create new jobs for our residents and to welcoming much more guests to get pleasure from our world-renowned hospitality.”

The brand new base will embody a state-of-the-art flight coaching middle to assist deal with the personnel scarcity plaguing the airline trade.

Avelo shall be consolidating pilot and flight attendant coaching on the new Orlando Pilot and Flight Attendant Coaching Middle, in partnership with Avenger Flight Group, the world’s largest privately owned industrial aviation coaching and simulation firm. The brand new coaching will embody areas corresponding to management, evacuation simulations and customer support.

Whereas Avelo sees itself as a leisure airline, Higher Orlando Aviation Authority CEO Kevin Thibault thinks it may drive enterprise journey as properly. “What we’re getting with Avelo is much more than a brand new connection between Central Florida and Baltimore. It’s a further entry level for enterprise to the favored Northeast hall from our area.”