NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Avelo Airlines is hitting new heights. They celebrated serving over 100,000 customers in Tweed New Haven Airport and added new flights to Chicago, Baltimore-Washington and Raleigh-Durham on Tuesday.
"Getting 100,000 people on about 800 airplanes in the first few months is great, we’re really excited about that," said CEO of Avelo Airlines, Andrew Levy.
Avelo has been in service in New Haven since November. Last month, the low-cost airline announced new flights to Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah-Hilton Head, Georgia., and Nashville, Tennessee. Avelo currently flies non-stop to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Sarasota, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
"You can go back-and-forth you don’t even think anymore you just say, 'oh I’ll call Avelo and get a ticket," said Virginia DeLorenzo, a resident of Boynton Beach in Florida.
With many sold-out flights, the early success is not a big surprise, according to Avelo staff.
"They’re happy we are here. The ease that they have getting on and off the airplane, the flexibility of the locations that we’re operating to, you truly can’t find a better opportunity for these people to come and fly in and out of," said Melissa Kantrow, a flight attendant.
"It's extremely convenient, it’s easy to get in and out of the airport and it’s easy to get in and out. Avelo has always been on time. This is my fourth or fifth flight since December, having a house in Boca Raton and here in Connecticut makes it extremely convenient to go back-and-forth," said Lynn Pascarelli from Hamden.
Levy says the airline will now serve more nonstop destinations from Connecticut than any other airline. He says the sky is the limit for how much the airline will grow.
"These new routes will be funded by 3 new airplanes that will live in New Haven, they’ll all be here within weeks. We have another 5 that are coming this year and so where they go and what they do we’ll have to figure that out as time goes on," said Levy.
Flights to Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Savannah-Hilton Head and Nashville will begin in early May. The new flights to Chicago, Raleigh-Durham and Baltimore-Washington will begin in late May.
Lindsey Kane is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at Lkane@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.