MANCHESTER, N.H. – Hello, Avelo!
The newest airline at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport marked its first flight into New Hampshire on Wednesday.
Announced earlier this year, the new route from Manchester to Raleigh, North Carolina makes Avelo Airlines the second new carrier to come to the airport since the appointment of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Director Ted Kitchens, following the addition of Spirit Airlines.
“I said this right over there (at Gate 1) 15 months ago, and I’ll say it again and I hope the media picks up on this: low fares are back in Manchester,” said Kitchens. “You do not have to go to Boston for low fares.”
Avelo Communications Manager Courtney Goff was excited on the first flight, which arrived in Manchester from Raleigh with 135 passengers on a 189-seat Boeing 737-800, a figure she says is above normal for a mid-week flight.
Goff says that the route will have Thursday and Sunday flights for the foreseeable future, allowing travelers from each city to switch locales for inexpensive weekend excursions. She added that the route may see more flights and Avelo may add additional flights to other cities from Manchester depending on demand and the delivery of four more planes, currently expected for later this year or early in 2024.
“Every time we start a route, we like to say ‘deliver on proof, not promises,’” she said. “So, we promised, we initially announced, we said we would be here, now the proof is here. We’ve got out big 737-800 plane here, we know that the demand is here, we know we’re utilizing all of our aircraft time and fuel and crew times to make this route work and it’s showing based on our bookings.”
Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig felt that the news was further proof of the airport’s viability, as it continues to compete with Logan International Airport in Boston for New Hampshire’s air travel dollars. She also noted that there is a possibility to reach out with public officials in the Raleigh-Durham area to create a cross-promotional tourism partnership, building on the “weekend getaway” concept alluded to by Goff or at minimum share ideas on how to promote their respective airports and local tourism efforts.
“There’s definitely a great opportunity there to build partnerships, I’m really looking forward to doing that,” she said. “I’ve worked with other mayors across the country and it’s really fun to build those relationships and share information about things that are working in one community that could work in another community.”
Upon disembarkation from the inaugural flight, many passengers were unaware that it was the first flight on the route until seeing the hoopla in the terminal.
Kendrick Shackleford, one of those passengers, used to live in Boston but now lives in Raleigh. He arrived in Manchester in Wednesday as part of a potential move to the Granite State in the near future. This was the second time he flew on Avelo, after flying to Orlando on Avelo with his family.
“I like this airport, this is my first time flying into Manchester,” he said. “I normally fly into Boston, but now that I have the option to fly into Manchester, I actually like it a lot.”
Claudia Stakeho was another passenger on the flight and came from Raleigh to visit relatives in Massachusetts. Like Shackleford, this was her second flight on Avelo and she said Wednesday’s flight was enjoyable. Also like Shackleford, she left with a positive opinion of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
“It’s nice, it’s bigger than what I expected. I like it,” she said. “Normally we drive, but before we flew into Boston, which was a crazy experience.”