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DALLAS - In its second year, Avelo Airlines (XP) is adding a third base, five new East Coast routes, and a new flight crew training program.
Avelo will open the airline's third base at Orlando International Airport (MCO) this June, joining the carrier's West Coast base at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and its first East Coast base at Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) in Southern Connecticut. XP also announced that it was adding Wilmington, NC to its network of East Coast destinations.
The airline states via a press release that, over time, its MCO base will "contribute tens of millions of dollars in positive economic impact" in the form of spending and tax revenue from the hundreds of thousands of visitors XP will fly to Orlando.
Over the summer, XP will take delivery of and base two Boeing Next Generation (NG) 737s at MCO. The airline expects to base additional 737 NGs at MCO in Q3 and Q4. XP's systemwide fleet will consist of at least 15 Boeing 737NGs by the end of 2022.
Three New MCO Destinations
Avelo says it expects to serve at least 10 nonstop destinations from Orlando by the end of 2022 (including HVN, which it currently serves). This summer, XP will begin serving three new destinations from MCO:
- Beginning June 30, 2022, Avelo will begin service three days per week to Charleston International Airport (CHS), utilizing 737-700 aircraft.
- Between June 30 and September 6, 2022, Avelo will offer seasonal service five days per week to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), utilizing 737-700 aircraft.
- Beginning July 1, 2022, Avelo will begin service three days per week to Wilmington International Airport (ILM), utilizing 737-700 aircraft.
With the addition of these three new destinations to its current service to HVN, XP will now fly to four nonstop destinations from MCO.
Avelo currently operates daily nonstop flights to/from HVN. Beginning June 16, 2022, this will expand to three flights per day on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and two flights per day on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In total, there will be 19 flights per week between MCO and Southern Connecticut.
New Integrated Flight Crew Training
The airline also announced that it was uniting its airline-wide Flight Attendant and Pilot Training in Orlando. Beginning this summer, all training for its Flight Attendants and Pilots will be facilitated by Avenger Flight Group (AFG), which is the world’s largest privately-owned commercial aviation training and simulation company.
Avelo expects the training program to be fully implemented in Q4 2022.
Previously conducted in separate locations and, at times, with separate companies, XP's Flight Attendant and Pilot training will now be conducted at AFG’s Orlando campus, which will provide opportunities for "collaborative learning and training in areas such as leadership, evacuation simulations, and customer service."
Avelo has more than 160 Flight Attendants and Pilots. The airline says it anticipates hiring hundreds more in the years ahead.
Featured image: N801XT Avelo Boeing 737-8CT. Photo: Nick Sheeder/Airways
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