By Chris Sloan / Special to The Keys Weekly
The Conch Republic’s air service boom continues. Avelo Airlines becomes the island’s third new airline this year and will mark the 24th non-stop destination to Key West. It’s another win for travelers looking for more nonstop, point-to-point flights avoiding the airport hub hassle of connecting flights.
Avelo is adding nonstop flights from southern Connecticut’s Tweed-New Haven Airport beginning Nov. 19. The twice-weekly service on Wednesdays and Saturdays will offer fares starting at $77 one-way. Like Spirit and Allegiant, Avelo is a true à la carte, unbundled low-cost carrier — meaning bags, seat assignments, extra legroom and most frills cost extra.
Its biggest base in New Haven draws travelers from Westchester County, New York, Hartford and across Southern New England. Avelo’s network now spans 50 cities in 20 states, Puerto Rico and three international destinations: Jamaica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. The airline flies Boeing Next-Generation 737-700s in two all-economy configurations — 149 seats or 147 seats — with all routes operating point-to-point, bypassing the traditional hub-and-spoke model. The experience is very much akin to Allegiant, though with fewer buy-on-board frills.
Avelo is distinguished by its industry-leading reliability, ranking #1 in on-time performance and achieving the lowest flight cancellation rate in the U.S. airline industry, according to a respected industry data source.
Avelo, pronounced “uh-VEH-loh” (think “yellow” or “Jell-O”), grew quickly since its April 2021 debut, but has faced recent headwinds. The recently announced closure of its original Burbank, California hub and all West Coast operations freed up aircraft for new destinations like Key West and other new recently announced markets. But that move wasn’t just about expansion — it was also about survival. Avelo has faced financial turbulence in a crowded low-cost airline sector where rising costs and domination by the nation’s dominant four major airlines (American, Delta, Southwest and United) are grounding profits for low-cost and low-fare airlines.
Avelo’s arrival comes with baggage
Adding to the headwinds is a controversy that’s no stranger to the Southernmost City: deportations. Avelo signed a long-term contract to operate charter flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with three of its aircraft dedicated to transporting detainees.
In liberal-leaning New Haven (home to Yale University), however, the news landed like a squall. The move sparked protests outside Tweed-New Haven Airport, political condemnation and even a cheeky billboard campaign urging travelers to boycott the airline. Seth Miller, an independent aviation journalist and New Hampshire state lawmaker, put up two billboards near Avelo’s busiest airport reading: “Does your vacation support their deportation? Just say AvelNO!” Days later, Avelo’s lawyers accused him of trademark violations, and the airline persuaded billboard operator Lamar Advertising to take the signs down. Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the ICE contract “a bad mistake.”
Avelo CEO Andrew Levy defended the company’s decision, saying it followed “significant deliberations” and would provide the financial stability needed to expand passenger service and keep more than 1,100 crew members employed. He acknowledges the topic is “sensitive and complicated,” but insists the additional revenue will keep Avelo’s core scheduled passenger service growing.
Spirit to enter the Conch Republic under financial storm clouds
Avelo’s announcement comes on the heels of Spirit Airline’s July 22 announcement that it would bring a splash of yellow to Key West’s blue skies. Discount carrier Spirit is stepping in to backfill Silver Airways, which shut down in early June with the only nonstop service to Ft. Lauderdale from EYW. The route will run four times a week — Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday — before ramping up to daily service on Dec. 18. From Fort Lauderdale, travelers can tap into Spirit’s full network of one-stop connections nationwide and into the Caribbean and Latin America.
The South Florida–based carrier will operate Airbus A320neo family aircraft — becoming the largest regularly scheduled jets to serve Key West. With the island’s short 5,076-foot runway, the 182-seat A320 will operate with significant numbers of blocked seats and weight restrictions given the more marginal runway and demanding weather conditions in warmer months. Spirit now offers a first-class product, enhanced legroom and optional perks such as WiFi — a far cry from its bare-bones past. Its operational reliability, quality reputation and customer experience have made significant strides.
But behind the bright livery is a stormy financial picture. Spirit, which emerged from bankruptcy in March having last made a profit in 2019, is still fighting for altitude. In its post-bankruptcy plan, a glut of capacity, the ultra-low-cost carrier warned that sluggish demand for domestic leisure travel, rising costs and a glut of capacity have left its revenues lagging. Debt covenants and credit card processing agreements are pressing the airline to improve financial results faster than anticipated.
Spirit has been selling assets, trimming its network and even furloughing 270 pilots. In its latest filing on Monday, Aug. 11, the airline openly stated “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep flying as a going concern over the next year if turnaround efforts fall short. The airline is continuing normal flight operations, and announcing additional new markets.
In an internal email, Spirit CEO CEO Dave Davis told employees that this “substantial doubt” language was required by outside auditors to convey risk — not certainty — and emphasized that the airline is taking action.
A fresh Breeze in the Keys
The most successful of Key West’s newest entrants took off on June 12. Breeze Airways now offers nonstop service from EYW to Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport with Raleigh-Durham service beginning Oct. 3. Breeze also sells tickets to Akron-Canton (CAK) in Ohio via a one-stop, no-plane-change connection.
The Key West reception has been nothing but sunny. The airline’s four-times-a-week service to Tampa and Orlando — Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays — has been so well received that Breeze announced the new nonstop from Raleigh-Durham before EYW services began. The new route will operate Mondays and Fridays.
Breeze’s business model is built on opening new point-to-point routes between underserved markets, often skipping the big hubs entirely. In Florida, the airline has pioneered flights to places like Vero Beach — a market it helped put back on the map — alongside other smaller airports where large carriers don’t compete directly. Breeze flies new Airbus A220s with free Wi-Fi and a choice of cabins, including a premium option. The airline is led by JetBlue founder David Neeleman, whose track record of launching successful carriers stretches from the U.S. to South America.
EYW: Full speed ahead despite slowing tourism
With Avelo, Spirit and Breeze all entering the market since the new airport terminal opened in April, Key West International is in the middle of a historic growth streak that is stimulating growth in new tourism markets. The gleaming terminal has earned mostly positive reviews from travelers and locals alike, built to handle a continued surge in premium leisure traffic.
Even though tourism has shown signs of softening in the Keys this summer, EYW is moving ahead full speed. In 2024, the airport handled 1.5 million passengers — nearly 80% more seat capacity than in 2019 — and with 96% of travelers arriving as visitors, Key West International Airport remains on the ascent with an average of about 190 flights a week during peak season linking the Conch Republic directly to more corners of the U.S. than ever before.
