Billboards along the state’s highways for months have asked Delawareans to say “hello to Avelo.”
They’ll get their chance beginning next month.
The startup, low-budget airline will start flying from the New Castle Airport to five Florida destinations on Feb. 1. According to Avelo’s website, seats are still available on the first trips and run anywhere from $40 to north of $170.
Airlines offering commercial service from Delaware have a recent history of transience, but Avelo believes they will be different. Less than two years from its debut, Avelo will make the New Castle Airport on Route 13 its fourth home base. A staff of 35 will be based at the airport. The company’s focus is serving airports of roughly New Castle’s size.
“We believe that this market can work and work really well,” Avelo CEO Andrew Levy said in October. “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.”
Avelo is making final preparations
Avelo spokesperson Courtney Goff said the majority of the 35 crew positions are filled. However, there are several positions posted to Avelo’s website that could take the total over 35 employees.
Goff said there are teams at the airport that are making final preparations, including training staff, ensuring the TSA has approved security plans and setting up the airport terminal and parking areas to accommodate customers.
They are currently setting up their IT systems to allow employees to check in customers and complete boarding. Goff said bookings are “doing well thus far,” but the company is hopeful people seeing planes in the sky will increase bookings. The company is still working on growing awareness, she said.
Goff declined to provide a special goal for how full they want each plane.
The New Castle Airport has been without commercial flights since June 2022 when Frontier Airlines pulled out of Delaware.
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When and where is Avelo flying?
Avelo will have one Boeing 737 based at the New Castle Airport to start. As part of its business plan, the company flies round trips each day to avoid the costs of overnighting crews. Avelo will fly to five Florida airports.
- Orlando: Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays
- Fort Lauderdale: Sundays and Thursdays
- Fort Myers: Mondays and Fridays
- Tampa: Sundays and Thursdays
- West Palm Beach: Wednesdays and Saturdays
When asked about adding destinations, Levy said, “We have to get Florida to work and we’ll go from there.”
How did Delaware attract Avelo?
The Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the New Castle Airport, passed an air service incentive program in the weeks prior to Avelo’s announcement that it planned to bring service to the airport.
The incentives are scheduled to last no longer than two years. Through the program, airlines can have terminal use fees slashed in half, landing fees reduced or completely waived and can receive money toward marketing expenses.
The terminal use and landing fee incentives are capped at $750,000 per calendar year for all participating airlines combined. The marketing expenses benefit is capped at $125,000 per market per airline in the first year and $75,000 in the second year.
The incentives can be revoked and airlines can be required to repay waived fees if the airline does not provide qualifying service for 24 months or fails to meet other requirements.
As of October, the airport charged airlines $2.50 per passenger for use of the terminal. All aircraft were assessed a landing fee of $1.25 per 1,000 pounds. Publicly available information on Boeing 737s would place the landing fee around $130 per flight.
By comparison, Philadelphia Airport charged a landing fee of $3.93 per 1,000 pounds as of July 2022. The airport doesn’t charge terminal fees on a per passenger basis.
The state of Delaware also provided an incentive to Avelo. In December, the state waived its aviation fuel tax for the airline for three years. The state typically assesses a 5 cent per gallon tax on jet fuel. The Delaware Business Times reported it will result in a cost savings of about $43,000 per year.
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 for the space on a one-year lease. They can renew the lease for an additional year up to nine times subject to rent increases in line with the Consumer Price Index.
How do you pronounce Avelo?
It’s pronounced uh-VEH-low. The name rhymes with “hello.”
Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
