One of the pieces of news making the rounds in the airline industry came carriers indicated that the travel market has softened after a summer surge.
Carriers are forecasting lower average fares in an effort to keep planes full – good news for travelers and bad news for those owning airline stocks. Industry analysts want airlines to cut capacity so we can pay more and investors can sleep well at night.
Those cheering on Avelo Airlines might see these developments as a worrisome sign.
However, airline spokesperson Courtney Goff seems to indicate that such talk is overblown.
“September and October traffic are just slower times for travel in general,” Gofff stated in an Email message.
Avelo is moving foward with an expansion of Wilmington (ILG) service to San Juan, PR and Sarasota, FL. It also added Salem, Oregon to its western route map.
Avelo rivals Frontier and Spirit could be feeling the most pain. It may be a reflection of their strategy of low fares, hefty fees and customer service issues that have made Spirit the butt of jokes from late night talk show hosts. So far, Frontier hasn’t gained as much attention, although its CEO made headlines by saying the nation got lazy during and after Covid by wanting to work from home.
Avelo has its fees, but its strategy of shorter nonstop flights from small cities like Wilmington-New Castle leads to fewer delays and canceled flights that lead to unhappy passengers.
Frontier, the second largest airline at Philadelphia International Airport, may also be struggling to find routes where it does not go head-to-head with carriers like Southwest. The airline has grown rapidly by adding new Airbus jets. Philly comes with a minimal presence from Southwest and high fares on many American routes.
Peeling off a small percentage of Spirit and Frontier customers can keep Avelo flights full, especially if the carrier can build awareness outide Delaware.
While passenger boarding figures haven’t been released in a while, we do know that hundreds of cars are parked at the two Wilmington Airport lots on any given day, even with Avelo ending seasonal service to some cities.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority, operator of the airport, also indicated it is spiffing up ILG’s terminal while hiring customer service staff.
Philly dead last in JDPower rating
One plus for Avelo may be the less than stellar rating for Philadelphia International Airport.
According to a JDPower report, Philly ranks dead last among large airports. Baltimore-Washington, a popular airport for Delaware travelers finished about a dozen spots ahead of PHL. Tampa came in first
The category does not include mega airports like Atlanta and Chicago O’Hare
Airport officials say that work is underway to approve amenities at the airport.
Based on recent travels, i would put PHL in the same territory as Baltimore-Washington.
Personally, Philadelphia also ranks much higher than crowded Montreal Trudeau and is few spots ahead of San Diego and Chicago Midway. Montreal does have great bagels.
