Avelo to ‘Seasonally Suspend’ HVN Flights to Chicago, Reduce Frequency to 3 Other Markets for Winter
Oct. 17—NEW HAVEN — Avelo Airlines is "seasonally suspending" flights from Tweed New Haven Regional Airport to Chicago's Midway International Airport between the week after Thanksgiving and early March 2023 and will reduce the frequency of flights from Tweed to three other non- Florida destinations over the winter, as well.
"The important points ... are, these are 'seasonal' changes and our overall 2021 vs. 2022 capacity has grown well over 100 percent — so, we're flying significantly more than we were last winter even with this very limited number of changes," Avelo spokesman Jim Olson said Monday in an email.
Avelo will suspend the Chicago service — Avelo's 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, 2023, which will continue, Olson said.
In addition, Avelo will make seasonal adjustments on the following routes, Olson said:
— Tweed to Nashville: Effective Nov. 30 through Feb. 15, 2023, the schedule will be reduced from four weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) to two weekly flights (Monday and Friday).
— Tweed to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport: Effective Nov. 30 through April 30, 2023, this schedule will be reduced from three weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) to two weekly flights (Monday and Friday).
— Tweed to Raleigh-Durham International Airport: Effective Dec. 6 through Feb. 15, 2023, this schedule will be reduced from three weekly flights (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday) to two weekly flights (Thursday and Sunday).
Sean Scanlon, executive director of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority, said the changes are "exactly what Avelo's saying: It's a seasonal adjustment to reflect what's going on in the market, to reflect what's going on in the broader economy and with fuel prices.
"But in general, I'm not concerned at all about it because Avelo's been doing very well ... and is currently in conversation with me about adding additional destinations," he said. "I think things are still in great shape."
Avelo's scheduled flights from Tweed New Haven to Nashville, Midway, Baltimore-Washington and Raleigh-Durham "are all only a few months old and we are continuing to analyze and learn from travel demand trends on these routes," Olson said.
"What we have seen for the past few weeks is a decline in future-booking demand during the winter months. As such, we are reducing the number of flights we offer — during the winter — to BNA, BWI, and RDU," he said.
According to Olson, "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."
Olson emphasized that the changes are seasonal and are not intended to be permanent.
"We are very pleased with the overall enthusiastic customer response we've seen since Avelo took flight at Tweed nearly a year ago," he said.
"On November 3rd, we will celebrate Avelo's one-year anniversary at Tweed," Olson said. "Since taking flight at HVN, we have operated over 4,500 flights, carried over half-a-million customers and expanded our flight capacity by well over 100 percent."
Avelo, the only airline currently serving Tweed, began flying all the routes that will be affected in late May.
___
(c)2022 the New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.)
Visit the New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.) at www.nhregister.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
