Avelo announces plans to extend seasonal Daytona to Philly flights
DAYTONA BEACH — After recently announcing its discontinuation of service here to two destinations, Avelo Airlines surprised Daytona Beach International Airport officials by announcing plans to resume seasonal service to the Philadelphia area sooner than expected.
The ultra low-cost airline is scheduled to end its twice-weekly nonstop flights to Wilmington Airport in New Castle, Delaware, just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the end of April.
However, it will now resume its flights there to and from Daytona Beach starting May 22.
"After a three-week pause at the end of April, the service will resume twice weekly on May 22 through Nov. 16," said Joanne Magley, director of air service, marketing and customer experience at the Volusia County-run Daytona Beach airport.
Magley said it is possible that Avelo will continue its twice weekly flights to Wilmington/Philadelphia beyond Nov. 16 because "the airline doesn't have their schedules made yet past (that date).
"If the community and visitors use the service, it shows the airline there's demand to keep it year-round."
Avelo also offers year-round twice-weekly nonstop service at Daytona Beach airport to New Haven, Connecticut.
Avelo last year re-launched its seasonal service to Wilmington/Philadelphia in November after a 10-month pause.
"Avelo made systemwide adjustments to its schedule (in late 2023) which included a pause in service from DAB (Daytona Beach International Airport) to Wilmington," said Magley. "This was due to Avelo not receiving expected aircraft orders and needing to (temporarily) pull out existing aircraft (from service) to perform heavy maintenance."
Unexpected delays in deliveries of additional jetliners prompted Avelo's recent decision to end its twice-weekly nonstop flights at Daytona Beach airport to Hartford, Connecticut, and to Concord, North Carolina, so it can deploy its "small fleet" for use on other routes where demand is greater, according to Mike Corcoran, a network planning executive for the airline, in an email to Daytona Beach airport officials.
Avelo in April landed a contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to deport illegal aliens to El Salvador.
The airline's decision to provide deportation flights has drawn protest demonstrations at some of the airports it serves, according to multiple news sources including the Delaware News Journal, a sister publication to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Avelo's founder and CEO Andrew Levy defended the decision in a written statement in which he wrote, "After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 crewmembers employed for years to come."
I.C.E. also employs charter airlines that don't offer regularly scheduled commercial flights to deport illegal aliens.
Wilmington, Delaware, has a population of just over 71,000 people, while New Castle, which is six miles to the south and where Wilmington Airport is located, has just over 5,500 residents.
Both cities are considered part of the greater Philadelphia market, because Pennsylvania's largest city with a population of more than 1.5 million, is just a 40- to 45-minute drive away.
Magley told The Daytona Beach News-Journal, "We were thrilled to learn that Avelo extended the Wilmington, Delaware flight. It is a popular flight and it extends our offerings for nonstop service to popular destinations like the Philadelphia area."
Currently, through the end of this month, Avelo offers incoming and outgoing flights here to and from Wilmington Airport on Thursdays and Sundays.
When Avelo resumes its seasonal service to Wilmington/Philadephia in late May, the flights will again be on Thursdays and Sundays through the end of August, said Magley.
In September and October, the twice-weekly flights will be on Mondays and Fridays. They will go back to being on Thursdays and Sundays in November.
Daytona Beach airport offers airline flights to eight different destinations. Delta Air Lines offers multiple daily flights to Atlanta, Georgia, while American Airlines offers multiple daily flights to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Breeze Airways, another ultra low-cost carrier like Avelo, offers twice-weekly nonstop flights to White Plains, New York, Hartford, Connecticut, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Providence, Rhode Island.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Avelo to resume seasonal Daytona to Philly nonstop flights in late May
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