Avelo adds 2nd route to San Juan, this time from Delaware

Avelo Airlines is looking to capitalize off its foray into Puerto Rico with a new route.

The startup budget carrier is looking to launch flights from its base in Wilmington, Delaware, to San Juan, Puerto Rico, starting Nov. 15 and operating twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The new route will become the Delaware airport's first outside the continental U.S., according to Avelo.

The Wilmington-San Juan route will be Avelo's second to a destination outside the continental U.S. after announcing a route to the Puerto Rico capital last week from New Haven, Connecticut.

Avelo is also adding a route from Wilmington Airport (ILG) to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), which will launch Nov. 2, with twice-weekly service on Thursdays and Sundays.

The expansion at ILG comes after Avelo scrapped two routes from ILG and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) due to low passenger demand.

With the addition of San Juan and Sarasota, Florida, Avelo will now fly to 15 destinations from ILG, a remarkable turnaround for the Delaware airport that had no commercial air service six months ago.

Avelo CEO Andrew Levy said since launching flights out of Wilmington in February, the carrier has already flown around 125,000 passengers from ILG.

"With winter right around the corner, San Juan and Sarasota are the latest examples of how Avelo is inspiring travel across the region with an irresistible mix of popular destinations to choose from," Levy said in a statement.

To announce the news, Avelo held a similar ceremony in Wilmington to one it hosted in New Haven on Aug. 1, featuring Puerto Rican food and drinks inspired by Sarasota, Florida.

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Delaware's Sen. Tom Carper lauded Avelo's growth at ILG.

"The return of commercial air travel out of Delaware continues to be a success," Carper said in a statement. "Now, with yet another expansion of service to popular destinations like San Juan and Sarasota, the Wilmington Airport and our region will continue to see economic benefits and business growth while providing addition options for travelers."

Since launching in 2021, Avelo has ridden a surge of momentum, spending much of the past two years expanding its route map. In an interview with TPG in June, Levy foreshadowed Avelo's growth in Puerto Rico, saying that Avelo was interested in expanding its destination list beyond the continental U.S. The Avelo CEO also mentioned that the carrier was interested in expanding its presence to Mexico and the Caribbean in the future.

Avelo's business model relies on connecting smaller cities with little to no commercial air service to popular leisure destinations like San Juan. While Avelo has seen significant growth with this business model, it is still unclear if Avelo can maintain this growth and demand in the long term.

For now, Avelo is celebrating its growth in Delaware, a state where carriers like Delta Air Lines and Frontier Airlines found it difficult to maintain a presence.

Delaware Gov. John Carney said the state was "grateful" for Avelo's expansion and hoped that more flyers would flock to ILG with the announcement of the new routes.

"We are excited to welcome more visitors to the First State and give our residents additional affordable and convenient travel opportunities," he said in a statement.

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