Almost three years ago, Gov. John Carney and numerous government officials gathered under a white tent on the apron of the New Castle Airport with representatives of Frontier Airlines.
On that January morning, they announced the return of commercial air service to the First State. Frontier was back for a second stint and here to stay, the company said.
Four months after Frontier pulled out of Delaware, Carney and his government colleagues found themselves in the same place Thursday morning. This time, they were shoulder to shoulder with Andrew Levy, the CEO of a new budget airline called Avelo that will start flying from New Castle in February.
‘This isn’t just another airport’
The question Levy and Carney were both asked is an obvious one. Why will this time be any different?
“This isn’t just another airport in the region we’re serving,” Levy said. “Frontier, they’re a great company, they do a great job. Their principal focus was on Philadelphia. That’s not what we to do. This is where we want to be.”
Carney deferred to the airline and its plans for Delaware.
“I think their concept is a good one and they’ve got routes that I think will be appealing to people,” Carney said. “They know this business, this is not my expertise, but we’re excited to be a partner.”
Avelo will fly from the New Castle Airport to five Florida destinations: Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Tampa and West Palm Beach. It advertised an introductory promotional one-way rate of $49 Thursday. As far as additional fees, Levy said Avelo uses an “unbundled pricing approach,” with extra charges for bags, reserved seating and priority boarding.
Orlando will be Avelo’s most frequent destination with morning flights offered on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. The airline will fly to the other destinations twice a week.
Frontier, by comparison, initially flew to Orlando three times per week before cutting its schedule to two times a week. The airline flew to several other destinations in its first Delaware go-around, including Atlanta, Chicago and Denver.
“We believe that this market can work and work really well,” Levy said. “And we believe that the level of commitment that we’re making in this market is different than what’s been done before.”
“We hope to be more relevant from day one.”
What is Avelo Airlines and how will it look here?
Avelo Airlines debuted in April 2021 with flights from the Hollywood Burbank Airport in California. It positions itself as a low-cost alternative to larger carriers with a focus on smaller, secondary airports in large markets. When flights started last year, it became one of the first new airlines in the U.S. in the last 14 years.
Shortly after getting its start in Burbank, Avelo added bases in New Haven, Connecticut and Orlando. The New Castle Airport will be its fourth home base.
Avelo will have one Boeing 737 based at the New Castle Airport to start. As part of its business plan, the company flies round trip each day to avoid the costs of overnighting crews. When Avelo decides to add another plane, it will consider New Castle, which would enable more destinations, but Levy made no guarantees.
It has two planes based in Burbank, five in New Haven and five in Orlando. The company reaches 31 locations overall.
“We have to get Florida to work and we’ll go from there,” Levy said, later adding the company relies on “grass-roots marketing.” “We have to allocate resources to the things that are most promising.”
Will Avelo Airlines work for Delaware?
When Frontier left in June, it continued a cycle that Delawareans have seen often over the past three decades. A new airliner moves in with the promise of low fares and easy flights only to pull out within a few years. Some with national staying power and others lost to history, the airlines that have tried Delaware range from Delta and Frontier to Crown Airways and Skybus Airlines.
Each time they leave, they gift Delaware the ignominious but relatively meaningless title of the only state without commercial airline service.
In June, officials at the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the airport, remained steadfast that commercial service could work at the airport. Stephen Williams, DRBA’s deputy director and director of airports, said at the time it was a matter of the authority finding the “sweet spot” with an airline that could take advantage of the airport’s easy access and dense surrounding population.
Williams said Thursday that Avelo hit the spot.
Others are less optimistic.
“It’s just not a passenger-based airport,” Alan Levin, who led the state’s economic development office under Gov. Jack Markell and is the former CEO of the Happy Harry’s drugstore chain, previously told Delaware Online/The News Journal. “It’s just not going to work.”
Josh Verde, an aviation consultant with Aerovise, believes Avelo’s business could work because it’s targeted at an underserved, but historically popular route. It will come down to getting the word out and filling seats early.
“If the fares are too cheap and they’re not making a profit, they’re just going to bail because they can’t afford the route,” Verde said. “Let the convenience be the selling point.”
How did Avelo Airlines end up here?
Discussions with the company began about two years ago, prior to the airline’s debut, according to Thomas Cook, DRBA’s executive director. At the time, Levy said Thursday, Avelo couldn’t get an economic deal that would work. It decided to start elsewhere, but continued conversations with DRBA. Avelo would have pursued service at the New Castle airport if Frontier hadn’t left, Levy said, but perhaps wouldn’t have flown to Orlando.
“Operationally, it’s a little easier, but that didn’t really matter to us,” Levy said.
DRBA’s agreement with Avelo is for five years. Avelo has the option to extend the agreement for an additional five years. In September, the DRBA board approved a lease agreement with Avelo for 3,900 square feet of hangar and office space adjacent to the commercial terminal. Avelo will pay $23,400 annually for the space. They can renew the lease for an additional year up to nine times.
Before Frontier’s return, DRBA spent about $2 million to renovate its commercial terminal to meet Transportation Security Administration standards. Avelo expects to hire around 35 flight attendants, technicians, customer service representatives and pilots before its February 1 Delaware debut.
Carney sees the airport as part of the state’s larger goals of attracting businesses and becoming a more desired place to live.
“Young people come to places where there’s cool things to do,” Carney said.
A $49 flight is cool, the governor said.
Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
