As expected, Avelo Airlines has removed flights to Daytona Beach, Nashville, Myrtle Beach, and Wilmington, NC, from its booking website starting in early January.
Earlier, the airline confirmed that some Delaware routes would be suspended due to slower seasonal traffic and scheduled maintenance on one of the two jets based in Wilmington due in part to delays in delivering new (to the airline) aircraft. Seasonal routes would resume in the spring. Avelo operates older Boeing 737 jets.
Except for Daytona Beach, within driving distance of Orlando, Avelo has maintained its Delaware-Florida schedule during the winter, including recently added Sarasota. Avelo also offers twice-weekly service from Wilmington to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
As the Ishrion X site (formerly Twitter) noted, the status of the flights is unclear since the Avelo schedule has not been extended beyond late April. Avelo is known for a “fail fast” strategy that exits routes that fall short of forecasts.
Last summer, Avelo offered flights from the Delaware airport to about two dozen cities.
This week, Avelo was in the news when Lakewood, FL, city commissioners approved a 15-year Avelo airport lease, with $6 million devoted to marketing efforts to promote tourism in the growing area roughly halfway between Tampa and Orlando.
While no destinations were announced, Wilmington (ILG) is believed to be a candidate for service from the Florida city. An announcement on Lakeland service could come in February, with service beginning in late spring.
