New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Avelo adds Fla. destination; airport cafe opening
NEW HAVEN — Avelo Airlines hasn’t begun flying out of Tweed New Haven Regional Airport yet but it just added a sixth Florida destination — Sarasota — the second destination added since Avelo announced the initial four on Aug. 19.
With less than two weeks to go until Avelo’s initial flight out of Tweed, it announced Thursday that three-day-a-week service from Tweed, Avelo’s first East Coast base, to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport will begin Jan. 13, 2022.
Introductory one-way fares between Tweed, which goes by the booking symbol HVN, and Sarasota Bradenton, which goes by the booking symbol SRQ, will begin at $49 and are available at AveloAir.com, the company said.
The introductory fare, available on a limited number of flights and seats, must be booked by Nov. 4.
Avelo’s latest announcement follows earlier announcements that Avelo will fly from New Haven to Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Palm Beach. It comes as good news for Tweed, which saw American Airlines cease its longtime American Eagle service between Tweed and Philadelphia at the end of September.
“Before a single flight has left here, they’ve added two additional routes, which I think speaks to the interest they’re seeing in the market and the level of interest that we’ve always said existed here if we gave them a product they use,” said Tweed New Haven Airport Authority Executive Director Sean Scanlon.
“There is a lot of buzz in southern Connecticut about the start of Avelo service from New Haven in two weeks, and the fact that they are adding a sixth destination is indicative of our growing partnership and how well things are going,” Scanlon said, at that that’s something “we couldn’t be more excited about.”
Tweed will have no commercial service until Avelo, a startup airline that began flying in April with flights out of Hollywood Burbank Airport in Los Angeles, begins flying to Florida.
Avelo will begin serving Tweed with a flight to Orlando on Nov. 3 — and passengers will be well-fed as they wait for their flights: the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority unanimously approved a food and beverage concession agreement Thursday with G Cafe.
G Cafe, which bakes fresh, old world breads and runs coffee shop/cafes in both downtown New Haven and Branford, will give Tweed its first nonvending machine concession in years and its first full-blown restaurant in decades.
According to the agreement, the cafe will serve fresh-brewed coffee, espresso, bottled juices, sodas and water, along with freshly-baked bread and bagels, pastries, hot and cold sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads and desserts. It also will feature a “GrabN-Go” section that will be open from the earlier of either 6 a.m. or at least 90 minutes before the first scheduled commercial departure until 30 minutes past the last scheduled departure of the day.
“I’m super-excited about this and they will be ready to go,” Scanlon told the authority. “Nothing that they serve over there will be made more than two hours before it is served.”
Avelo Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said the company is looking forward to serving Tweed and its market — including with the just-announced flights to Sarasota.
“Sarasota’s turquoise water and white-sand beaches are now easier to get to than ever,” Levy said in a release. “With our very low fares and HVN’s unmatched convenience, we hope to inspire our Connecticut customers to visit all six Florida destinations Avelo serves. We can’t wait to take off for The Sunshine State in two weeks.”
Rick Piccolo, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport’s president and CEO, said, “We are thrilled that Avelo Airlines has chosen Sarasota Bradenton International Airport to be part of their air service network. With low fares and convenient nonstop service, passengers will have an affordable connection between two highdemand destinations.
“We look forward to welcoming Avelo Airlines to SRQ and we’re confident their service will be a great success and expand in the future,” Piccolo said.
The flight, Flight 305, will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. On Tuesdays, it will depart Tweed at 2 p.m. and arrive in Sarasota at 5:10 p.m. On Thursday and Sundays, it will depart Tweed at 3:55 p.m. and arrive in Sarasota at 7:05 p.m.
Return flights also will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. On Tuesdays, Flight 306 will depart Sarasota at 5:50 p.m., arriving at Tweed at 8:40 p.m. On Thursdays and Sundays, Flight 306 will depart Sarasota at 7:45 p.m. and arrive at Tweed at 10:35 p.m.
Avelo is investing $1.2 million to help upgrade and modernize facilities and operations as part of an overall $100 million expansion project at Tweed , which will include a new terminal and extended runway. The expansion, which was enabled by a 43-year lease extension that the Board of Alders granted the authority in September, will be financed by airport operator Avports.
Avelo and Tweed are hiring more than 100 new employees — who will be based at the airport — by the end of the year .
Avelo’s arrival to Tweed marks the largest expansion of service at the airport in more than 30 years, the airline said in a release.
Avelo’s “everyday low fares” have “no change or cancellation fees” and there is “no charge for customers who choose to make reservations by phone,” the airline said in a release. Avelo also offers several options “that give customers the flexibility to pay for what they value, including priority boarding, checked bags, carry-on overhead bags” and to bring a pet in the cabin, the release said.
Service is on singleclass, 147-seat 737-700 mainline jets, which Avelo said “offer a more spacious and comfortable experience than the regional jets that historically served this airport.”
Avelo began flying from its initial base in Hollywood Burbank Airport on April 28, 2021, making it America’s first new scheduled airline in nearly 15 years, the airline said. It currently serves 11 destinations across the Western U.S.
For more information, visit AveloAir.com.