#aveloairlines aielines expand wilmington airport airline longroute webnewsify

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Avelo Airlines Expands Base in Wilmington

Avelo Airlines, a U.S. startup, is adding a second Boeing 737 to its Wilmington Airport (ILG) base and launching nine new routes from the Delaware airport, which began without airline service in 2023. The extension, announced on April 20, represents a drastic shift in ILG's fortunes, which lost a lone route run by Frontier Airlines to Orlando (MCO) in June 2022. However, on February 1, Avelo launched a route to Orlando and built an aircraft base with one 737-700. Wilmington was soon joined by Florida cities Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Fort Myers (RSW), Tampa (TPA), and West Palm Beach (PBI). All five routes are served twice a week. Avelo plans to add a second 737-800 to the base in June and replace the 149-seat 737-700 at ILG with a 189-seat 737-800. Nine more routes will shortly be added, providing a substitute for the nearby Philadelphia International (PHL), particularly for flights to Florida. Wilmington Airport, located 25 miles south of PHL and 75 miles east of Baltimore-Washington International (BWI), was traditionally disregarded by airlines, with the exception of intermittent Frontier service. Avelo said it will hire 35 more people at the airport, bringing its total number of employees to more than 100. The airline will serve 14 cities from ILG by the end of June, including seven in Florida. From Wilmington, the airline will begin service to nine cities between June 22 and June 28. The routes will be covered twice every week, with the exception of Myrtle Beach (MYR), South Carolina, which will be served three times per week. Nashville (BNA), Daytona Beach (DAB), and Melbourne (MLB) in Florida; Charleston (CHS) and Greenville/Spartanburg (GSB) in South Carolina; Raleigh/Durham (RDU) and Wilmington (ILM) in North Carolina; and Savannah (SAV) in Georgia are among the new destinations. According to a statement from Andrew Levy, CEO of Avelo, "We are happy with the positive reaction Avelo has gotten since our airline took flight in February. We're thrilled to introduce Wilmington to these nine additional routes to some of our most well-liked east coast destinations "based on this initial customer response to our first five Florida routes." Our goal is to be the airport of choice for those in Delaware, southern Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland who want reasonable rates, good service, and a pleasant airport experience." The acquisition of a second 737-800 and the swapping out of a 737-700 are in line with what Avelo is doing at its hub in RDU. The airline, which started operating in April 2021, has bases at MCO, RDU, Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN), and Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) in southern California. Avelo's network includes 43 airports in the United States, although it does not provide connecting service. Read the full article