New discount airline offers another choice to Northeast from Fort Lauderdale

Discount air carrier Avelo Airlines is launching service from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Nov. 5, giving travelers a new point of entry to the Northeast: New Haven, Conn.

Avelo started operations in April from a base in Burbank, California, with a network of destinations in several western states.

Now, Avelo says it is opening an eastern front with five nonstop flights a week out of Fort Lauderdale to New Haven, which is 70 miles to the northeast of New York City. Avelo also intends to serve Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers.

“We’re excited to bring more choice, everyday low fares and the Avelo Soul of Service to Fort Lauderdale,” Avelo Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said in a statement.

Levy could not be reached for comment on Monday.

But the airline appears to be intent on serving leisure travelers headed for cities that lack much air service. Upon its launch in April, management said its route system was designed to deliver passengers to cites near national parks and outdoor recreation centers.

The company also said it was targeting the nation’s increasing population of remote workers who sought to escape crowded urban areas during the COVID19 pandemic.

The airline’s services may play well to the latter group as the southern part of Connecticut is filled with various technology companies. New Haven is home to Yale University.

The carrier will operate singleclass, Boeing 737-700s with a capacity of 147 passengers, according to a company statement.

From Fort Lauderdale, Avelo is offering limited fares at $59. To get the low fare for Nov. 5, tickets must be purchased by Aug. 31, according to a joint statement from the Broward County Avia

tion Department and the airline.

Thus far, Avelo does not appear to have plans to link its east and west route networks with transcontinental flights. Besides California, the western states served include Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Oregon and Utah. But on Sept. 15, it is suspending service to Grand Junction, Colo., and Bozeman, Montana, due to insufficient demand, according to Travel Weekly.

The airline’s business model in part reflects the one followed by Miramar-based Spirit Airlines. It charges fees for carry-on and checked luggage, assigned seats and other optional services.

But Avelo says it won’t charge customers fees for changing or canceling a flight. The airline also does not impose call center fees on those who book their flights by phone.

Management also said Avelo does not overbook flights.

The airline says it is the nation’s first new scheduled airline to start service in nearly 15 years.