After just 3 months of service, Avelo Airlines says it is responding to customer demand by adding 9 new nonstop destinations from Wilmington Airport (ILG) this summer.
There are now a total of 14 routes available, using two Boeing 737 planes.
New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer says the idea of having a commercial airport in Delaware has drawn a lot of skepticism in the past - with several airlines failing to make a mark in New Castle.
“Avelo’s different. They, in less than 90 days, have tripled their presence here. It’s really exciting for Delawareans and people in the region,” said Meyer. “We can now go low cost to go listen to music in Nashville for the weekend. To go to beautiful Charleston. To do a ghost tour in Savannah. To go to 7 locations in Florida alone.”
Along with Nashville, TN (BNA), Charleston, SC (CHS), and Savannah, GA/Hilton Head, SC (SAV), Avelo has added stops in Daytona Beach, FL (DAB), Melbourne/Cocoa Beach, FL (MLB), Greenville/Spartanburg, SC (GSP), Myrtle Beach, SC (MYR), Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU), and Wilmington, NC (ILM).
These join Avelo’s five existing routes going to Florida, which customers have been traveling since early February.
This is the largest number of destinations ever offered at the Wilmington Airport, and the 9 new stops represent Avelo’s largest route expansion from a single base.
This expansion stems from the airline's popularity in the First State. Within its first 90 days of service, Avelo has flown over 25,000 customers at ILG.
And Avelo Airlines Head of Network Planning Trevor Yealy says in the month of March alone, over 90% of seats were sold on their flights- a remarkable feat for an airline in its second month of service.
“So far our sales have been predominantly Wilmington area-based customers. We’re generating nearly 80% of our sales out of this area- which is great, I mean that’s what we expected, that’s what we wanted going forward,” he explained. “I think over time that will shift a little bit, but we always expected to be more heavily Wilmington, Delaware Valley point-of-sale focused.”
Starting in late June, planes will fly out twice a week to most of these new destinations- but the airline plans to increase flight frequency over time as resources become available.
