Avelo Airlines Launches New Routes From New Haven

Avelo Airlines, one of America’s newest low-cost carriers has been growing quickly across the country. After opening its first base at Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport (BUR) in April 2021, the carrier has since opened an east coast base at Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN) in New Haven, Conn. The carrier recently announced its plans to launch four new nonstop flights from the Connecticut base.

The first new route to be launched from New Haven is to Myrtle Beach, S.C. (MYR). Starting on May 5, 2022, the flight will be operated once daily. By June 22, the carrier will increase this frequency to eight times weekly. Additionally, thrice weekly flights to Charleston, S.C. (CHS) will also begin on May 5. By May 28, 2022, however, the carrier plans to increase this frequency to four times weekly.

The next day, Avelo will inaugurate flights to two additional cities in the southeastern United States. Nonstop service to Nashville, Tenn. (BNA) will be offered four times weekly starting May 6. The carrier will also begin flights to Savannah, Ga. (SAV) with the same frequency as the Nashville service.

Avelo will not face any direct competition on any of these new routes. In fact, the low-cost airline is the only mainline carrier to serve New Haven. Despite this, many other carriers serve the new destinations from nearby Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford. From Hartford, Spirit offers nonstop flights to Myrtle Beach while Southwest offers nonstop service to Nashville. With the two cities being only forty minutes apart (in driving distance), Avelo will likely have to compete for traffic from its much larger rivals.

While new, Avelo has been growing across the United States through entering markets many mainline carriers have neglected. Among these include cities like Fort Collins (FNL), Eureka/Arcata (ACV) and Pasco Tri-Cities (PSC). Entering underutilized airports has long been at the core of many low-cost carriers’ strategies. Though smaller cities, if Avelo can stimulate enough demand with low fares, then they might find and hold a unique position within the airline industry. Its recent growth in New Haven illustrates that so far, its strategy seems to be paying off.