Avelo operated its inaugural flight from McKinney National Airport in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday.
Avelo Flight 1848, operated with a Boeing 737-800, was the first commercial airliner service from the airport to Fort Myers, Florida.
“We target the secondary airports of very large metropolitan areas where we can offer a different experience to the customers,” Avelo founder and CEO Andrew Levy said in an interview with AirlineGeeks.
McKinney is the third airport in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex to offer commercial service, with Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport being the other two.
“For a lot of folks we’re going to be closer and a more convenient drive. And hopefully they’ll take advantage of that,” said McKinney airport director Ken Carley.
Carley said the airline has been wanting to be in the market since 2018. McKinney is the first new airport in Texas in 20 years to be certified for commercial air service.
“We had to build all this infrastructure because it did not exist. There was nothing on this side of the airport. So it’s not just this building, it’s the ramp and the taxi lane and all of that stuff, the taxiway that connects to the runway system. So it was a building, all the infrastructure, and meeting all those requirements,” Carley said.
The airport has six gates.
McKinney is about 30 miles northeast of Dallas in Collin County. Levy said the area is growing like crazy.
“What we’re going to offer people who live close to this airport is a very different experience than getting on the highways and driving all the way to DFW or going down to Love Field,” he said.
The Texas-based airline will serve 11 destinations from McKinney: Las Vegas, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, Sarasota/Bradenton, Nashville, West Palm Beach, New Orleans, Denver, Atlanta, and Fort Lauderdale.
“I think it’s phenomenal that Avelo has announced additional routes before they’ve even started service. That’s a testament, I think, to what they’re seeing in the response they’re getting from for bookings. So they think it’s a strong market,” Carley said.
Levy said the approach was to offer a lot of selections and get a better sense of the market.
“All the markets we’re serving have massive proven demand from this area. And so of course, the trick for us is just to get people to know we’re here and then give us a try,” Levy said.
McKinney is a crew base for Avelo, its fifth, with pilots, flight attendants, airport operations personnel, and aircraft technicians, about 150 people behind the operation, Levy said.
“The demand will dictate how we grow, if we grow, and how fast we grow. This is going to be based on, do customers like the service? Does it resonate with them? Are we serving a need that exists every other place we’ve been? We don’t have any trouble filling up airplanes. I think this market is just going to do great, but time will tell, and the consumer will let us know,” Levy said.
“Our focus is on building a business that’s sustainable for the long term,” he added. “And that means everything we do has to work. It’s got to work well.”
Avelo currently offers service from DFW to New Haven, Connecticut. Levy said that service will continue but could move to McKinney at some point.
