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Avelo Airlines has canceled its flights between Lakeland and Atlanta after Jan. 5 because not enough passengers are booking the route, city commissioners were told Friday. But the airline hasn’t given up on future Atlanta flights, Airport Director Kris Hallstrand said.
The Atlanta route was getting about 40% utilization “and that doesn’t pay any bills,” Hallstrand said during a project update meeting with the Lakeland City Commission on Friday.
This week marks one year since Lakeland Linder International Airport and Avelo Airlines announced a 15-year agreement for flights with the low-cost carrier. Lakeland airport leaders had been actively seeking passenger service for five years.
Issues: Hallstrand and commissioners discussed several passenger concerns about the Atlanta flights:
- Business travelers want to go to Atlanta and return home the same day, but Avelo doesn’t offer that option. Instead, the airline offers one flight each way every Thursday and Sunday.
- Avelo’s counter and gates are difficult to find in the sprawling Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport.
- Travelers flying to Atlanta and using a different airline for their final destination cannot have their checked luggage transferred.
“Some airlines do not have interline agreements or code share agreements with other airlines,” Hallstrand explained about the bag issue. “This is true at any airport they serve. (It’s) not uncommon in the start-up airline world.”
Public awareness: Mayor Bill Mutz said concentrated marketing is needed to make local travelers aware of Avelo’s flights. “There’s just too many people going to Atlanta out of Polk County for us to ignore this,” he said.
With 42 options to and from Atlanta via Tampa or Orlando, people aren’t thinking of utilizing Lakeland, especially if they need a quick turnaround, he said. “I’d love to think that there’s another window in the future we could get there maybe again,” Mutz said.
Hallstrand said she was “told directly that that is not off our list in the future.”
People who have already booked Atlanta flights after Jan. 6 are receiving refunds to the credit cards with which they purchased their tickets.
High ridership: Despite the Atlanta hiccup, Hallstrand said ridership is high in general.
Avelo has carried 12,145 passengers out of Lakeland and 11,060 into Lakeland since it started service in June, Hallstrand. Since then, Avelo has expanded from a single Lakeland route (New Haven, Connecticut) to eight destinations to and from Lakeland.
In November, the airline experienced its busiest month yet: 7,039 outbound passengers and 6,369 inbound, she said. The airport’s passenger parking lot held an average of 182 cars per day in November.
Lakeland routes: The Rochester, New York, route has been Lakeland’s highest booked so far. “So that’s kind of unexpected, but it is and we’re happy that it’s serving people with quite good aircraft loads,” Hallstrand said.
In addition to Atlanta, New Haven and Rochester, Avelo’s current destinations from Lakeland include:
- Concord, North Carolina, near Charlotte
- Wilmington, Delaware, near Philadelphia
- Hartford Connecticut
- Manchester, New Hampshire, near Boston
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
Flights to Nashville begin March 6 and Hallstrand said she’s expecting high ridership.
“The synergies now between Lakeland and Nashville, I think that one’s going to rocket out of Lakeland,” Hallstrand said. “So I’m excited for Nashville and it’s going to be another great proof of concept for our airport and our partners.”
The Hartford route has experienced low usage, but Avelo hasn’t scrapped it from the schedule, Hallstrand said.
“Hartford, Connecticut is underperforming, but it appears that we’re actually cannibalizing some of our (nearby) New Haven, Connecticut traffic,” Hallstrand said. “New Haven is staying very strong, so there’s an adjustment being made.”
Airline growth: Hallstrand is optimistic that Lakeland routes will expand as Avelo adds more aircraft. The fleet has grown from 16 in June to 20 now: eight Boeing 737-700s and twelve Boeing 737-800s. The airline plans to add six more in the coming year, Hallstrand said.
Many Michigan snowbirds wintering or living in Lakeland are hoping for a Detroit flight, particularly during the Detroit Tigers’ Spring Training.
“I don’t see that happening this year, but I know it is on the list with the airline as places of interest,” Hallstrand told LkldNow.
She also said during the Friday morning meeting that “the city of Lakeland and the airport cannot dictate to the airline where they’re going to fly, but we can suggest and we’re pulling models and we’re pulling numbers and showing them.”
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At present I use Amtrak to Hollywood Florida. Is there any chance you may go there. I also have a home in south Brandenton close to the Sarasota airport. Any change for that???
About the same as a snowball in … well, you get the idea.
Not surprising. Wonder how much money City Of Lakeland and assorted agencies threw away on this boondoggle?
Would like to see the flights to Atlanta out of Lakeland come back especially with the MLB season starting!