Avelo Airlines Unveils Bahamas As Fourth International Destination

U.S. carrier Avelo Airlines will make Nassau, Bahamas, its fourth international destination, with service to be launched from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina.

Flights between RDU and Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) will commence June 11 and be operated 2X-weekly on a seasonal basis. The airline operates a fleet of 20 Boeing 737NG aircraft.

NAS will become the third international destination Avelo serves from RDU, following two routes launched in February: Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Both routes are being flown 2X-weekly.

Avelo also operates from Bradley International Airport (BDL) near Hartford, Connecticut, to Cancun International Airport (CUN) in Mexico and MBJ.

The BDL routes, launched in November 2024, marked the first international service for Houston-based Avelo, which was founded in 2021.

Avelo Commercial Head Trevor Yealy told Aviation Week late last year that the airline would continue to evaluate potential new international routes and expressed confidence about flying internationally from RDU. He said data showed “people are getting on an airplane in Raleigh and connecting to get to Punta Cana or Montego Bay. There's plenty of people … to fill our 2X-weekly service. It doesn't really require stimulating incremental demand, though certainly we hope that we stimulate even more incremental demand.”

NAS will become fast-growing RDU’s 15th international destination, the most it has ever had. The airport handled 15.5 million passengers in 2024, up 6.5% year-over-year and a record for annual traffic.

Avelo joins a roster of U.S. carriers serving Nassau—located around 180 mi. from Miami—that includes Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

Domestic Expansion

Avelo will also open two domestic routes from RDU. Service to Wilmington, Delaware, will begin on May 22, followed by flights to Grand Rapids, Michigan, commencing the next day. Both routes will be operated 2X-weekly.

Other new domestic routes unveiled by Avelo include 2X-weekly flights from Lakeland, Florida, to both Gerald Ford International Airport (GRR) in Grand Rapids and Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) in New York. Both GRR and ISP will be new points on Avelo’s route map.

The airline will open four routes from Wilmington International Airport (ILM) in North Carolina, where it will establish an aircraft base in April. The carrier will initially station one 737NG at ILM, with plans to add a second 737NG later in the year.

The new routes, all to be operated 2X-weekly starting in mid-June, include flights to Detroit Metro (DTW); Houston Hobby; ISP; and Washington Dulles (IAD).

Avelo this month established a base at North Carolina's Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (USA), which is located about 20 mi. from Charlotte Douglas International Airport. It now has one 737NG based at USA and will add a second in April.

Three routes to be added at USA, all to be operated 2X-weekly, include service to ISP (starting May 22), IAD (May 23) and DTW (June 13).