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Today is a big day, not just for Avelo Airlines, but also for Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL). The airline added service to a central Florida airport that has not seen passenger service in more than 10 years. The airport is only a 35-minute drive from me in Tampa and I’ll be taking the inaugural flight shortly.
Avelo Airlines is a low-cost carrier that launched in 2021. The airline operates a fleet of modern Boeing 737 aircraft and serves destinations across the United States. Avelo competes with Spirit Airways, Breeze Airways, Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines.
The airport is tiny with just two gates. New flights to/from Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport (HVN) started today with flights 2x weekly (on Thursdays and Saturdays). I had never heard of this airport and its lack of current passenger service before this announcement and this might be the reason why. Defunct airline, Direct Air flew Boeing 737s to/from Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), Niagara Falls International Airport (IAG), and Springfield International Airport (SPI) in Springfield, IL. It ceased operations in 2012. The airport has been home to the southeast regional air cargo hub for Amazon Air since July 2020.
Avis and Budget have rental car counters here.
There are charging stations throughout.
Security is quick and there is even TSA PreCheck offered.
The airport was decked out for the inaugural flight with lots of press, local politicians, and Avelo execs on hand to celebrate.
A nice buffet of sandwiches, bagels, charcuterie, yogurt parfaits, and snacks were offered.
Bagels, bagged lunches, and yogurt parfaits
Personal charcuterie boards and snacks
Breakfast pastries
The inbound plane arrived to a water salute.
It was fun to watch it arrive alongside the other press.
Welcome to Florida!
Nice commemorative coin for the inaugural.
Anthony’s Take: I’ll be taking the inaugural flight to Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport (HVN) shortly and will be reviewing the flight in a separate post. Stay tuned for more.
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the authorās alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
6 comments
Hello from row 2! This is definitely the most activity and excitement Iāve seen around an inaugural and Iāve been on a few dozen!
I’m on the aisle in row 1 (the bulkhead seat, where else?)
Burnishing your avgeek credentials. Nice.
Say, isn’t Publix based in Lakeland?
It is pretty much right down the road from the airport.
There is another Niagara Falls International Airport (SPI) in Springfield, IL of all places? š
Thanks for catching the typo. Fixed