Wilmington (ILG) airport operator, the Delaware River and Bay Authority, says a big announcement is coming on Aug. 10.
The DRBA did not drop any hints, but any news will likely involve new service from Avelo Airlines.
The social media post on the announcement touched off dozens of requests for destinations, including Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Detroit, New England, and even Clarksburg, WV (population 16,000).
We do know that Avelo will temporarily end flights to the Carolinas and Savannah, GA, at the end of October, leaving room for its two Delaware-based jets to add service. The airline indicated that the Carolinas and Georgia flights will resume next year.
Avelo typically keeps its flight times under three hours and does not offer connecting service, a strategy that minimizes delays. That would seem to rule out Las Vegas or West Coast flights that would tie up a Boeing 737-800 jet for most of a day.
Based on terminal and parking lot activity, Avelo is still seeing a positive response to its Wilmington schedule, which typically offers a couple of flights a week to Eastern destinations.
The DRBA is upgrading a remote lot left over from a brief surge in Frontier Airlines flights to handle parking that sometimes fills up its gated lots.
A couple of people commenting on the Wilmington Airport announcement took aim at rising fares and parking fees. The airport responded by noting that fare sales are frequent on Avelo.
Those complaining about fares should remember that the cost of operating a Boeing 737 jet ($7,000 or more an hour) means the airline needs to charge more than $30 one-way per passenger to stay in business Avelo gains revenue by charging for luggage and seat assignments.
Finally, Wilmington Airport is cautioning travelers that imposter sites have surfaced and may attempt to offer fake contests. The airport does have ticket giveaways but does not ask for personal or credit card info.
Here is the link to the official Facebook page for the airport.
Philly flight totals down from 2019
Wilmington Airport may also be getting a boost from service cutbacks at Philadelphia International Airport.
The Philadelphia Business Journal (subscription) reported that the total number of flights from PHL is down 28% from the pre-pandemic year of 2019. Only Detroit saw a larger drop among big airports.
The bulk of the cuts come from a pilot shortage that is hitting short-haul flights from American Airlines affiliates like Salisbury, MD-based Piedmont.
American Airlines is gradually restoring international service at PHL in response to a strong leisure market and converted a couple of routes to year-round status.
Still, the cuts leave more room for carriers like Avelo, Spirit, and Frontier to carve out market niches.
Frontier offers monthly flight pass
Avelo rival in Philadelphia, Frontier Airlines, has launched a monthly version of its GoWild All-You-Can-Fly Pass.
Consumers can purchase a pass valid for 30 days for $149, with a $99 enrollment fee waived for a short time. This is in addition to a fall and winter pass.
GoWild operates like a stand-by flight, with members getting a shot at available seats a day before departure – longer for international flights.
Those trying to get cheaper fares around the holidays will find the fare comes with blackout periods when the airline can fill Airbus jets at higher fares.
Frontier has flights to about 30 destinations from Philadelphia. Most operate a few times a week.
In Philadelphia and elsewhere, Frontier is still dealing with its subpar customer ratings. It did not help when the airline took away the customer service phone line.
Business travel not back to pre-pandemic levels
Avelo and Frontier will continue to see competition for leisure travelers since business travel is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels soon.
Southwest Airlines, which has focused on the business travel market through focus destinations such as Baltimore-Washington (BWI) plans to cut some short hauls favored by business travelers, reduce Tuesday and Wednesday service and cut some of those early morning flights Airline Weekly reported.
During the pandemic, Southwest expanded service to dozens of leisure destinations, including airports near Yellowstone and Yosemite.
Other airlines have also predicted a slow recovery.
In Delaware and elsewhere, an uptick in corporate travel has been detected, especially among upper manaagement,
However, cost issues have limited trips by lower management, despite many companies having far-flung global destinations and a desire for team members to get to know one another better. One-day and marathon business trips by salespeople are less common.
As for Wilmington, don’t expect to see a return of carriers like Delta offering regional jet flights from small airports to hubs used by business travelers. Despite a fairly long run over a decade ago, the strategy did not work out at Wilmington (ILG).
