Avelo Airlines has expanded its international network by launching two new routes in two days. The airline, which began operations in April 2021, now operates a fleet of 20 aircraft. These consist of twelve Boeing 737-800s with 189 seats and eight Boeing 737-700s with 149 seats.
Previously, Avelo’s international flights were charter services that were not bookable directly through the airline’s website. This changed in November 2024 when Avelo launched its first scheduled international routes from Hartford to Cancun and Montego Bay, both served twice weekly by a Boeing 737-800.
On February 12, Avelo introduced a third international route from Raleigh/Durham to Montego Bay. This service is also operated twice weekly using a Boeing 737-700. “Will it be the third time lucky?” was asked about this market, previously served by JetBlue and Frontier.
Two additional routes have been added this week. On February 21, Avelo began flights from Hartford to Punta Cana using a Boeing 737-800. “The inaugural roundtrip service deployed an 18.3-year-old N806VL,” according to Flightradar24 data. The following day, Raleigh/Durham to Punta Cana flights will commence on the smaller Boeing 737-700.
These new routes are significant as they serve large unserved markets; for example, more than 47,000 passengers traveled indirectly between Raleigh/Durham and Punta Cana last year.
Avelo now serves three major tourist destinations: Cancun, Montego Bay, and Punta Cana. Collectively these destinations had approximately six million indirect passengers traveling from the US last year.
Looking beyond Avelo’s operations within a radius of up to 1,500 nautical miles from the US reveals several unserved markets with potential for development by any carrier.
