New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Tweed New Haven flights to Chicago won’t resume until May
NEW HAVEN — Avelo Airlines, which “seasonally suspended” flights between Tweed New Haven Regional Airport and Chicago’s Midway International Airport after the holidays, won’t resume the route until May 19, months after the previously-announced March resumption date, officials said.
“To better match our schedule to the popular summer peak travel period between New Haven and Chicago, we extended our seasonal suspension of this route until May 19,” said Avelo spokesman Jim Olson. “We are providing full refunds to any customers who had confirmed reservations on flights prior to May 19.
“We look forward to welcoming our customers aboard this summer,” Olson said.
Asked what prompted the delay resuming flights, Olson said, “Forward booking trends indicated May/summer is when folks want to visit Chicago. Since this was our first year flying there, we didn’t have the benefit of historical booking data to draw from when originally scheduling this route.”
Flights to Savannah, Ga., will return Friday for the spring and summer seasons, Olson said.
“I think it’s driven by demand,” said Tom Rafter, executive director of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority. “It’s a business decision. They look at the trends and they have assets that they have to use to the best of their abilities.”
Avelo announced in mid-October that it would suspend flights to and from Chicago — its only east-west route from its New Haven East Coast base — from Nov. 30 through early March, except for flights over the peak holiday travel period from Dec. 19 through Jan. 4.
At the same time, it announced it would reduce the frequency of flights to and from Nashville from four weekly flights to two from Nov. 30 through Feb. 15, reduce the frequency of flights to and from Raleigh-Durham from three weekly flights to two from Dec. 6 through Feb. 15, and reduce the frequency of flights to and from Baltimore-Washington from three weekly flights to two from Nov. 30 through April 30.
Flights to and from Nashville and Raleigh-Durham have since been restored to four each week. Flights to and from Baltimore-Washington currently are shown at two per week at least through Sept. 4.
Olson said at the time of the suspension that “quickly adjusting our schedule to match travel demand trends is critical to running a successful airline. As a result, we will add new flights and routes when opportunities present themselves and reduce flying on routes when travel demand declines.”