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Avelo Airlines is accelerating its eastward shift with a fresh wave of nonstop routes planned for this fall, adding new connectivity between Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, Puerto Rico and other key leisure and secondary markets as the low cost carrier leans into underserved U.S. airports.
Fall Expansion Builds on Rapid East Coast Pivot
The latest route announcements continue a rapid realignment of Avelo’s network toward the eastern half of the United States. After initially focusing heavily on the West Coast following its 2021 launch, the airline has steadily wound down flying at some western bases while boosting operations from hubs such as Wilmington in Delaware, Concord in North Carolina and Lakeland in Central Florida.
By early 2026 Avelo plans to operate dozens of routes that primarily connect secondary airports and mid-sized cities rather than the largest legacy-carrier hubs. Recent schedule filings and company statements show new East Coast and Midwest links rolling out in late winter and through the fall season, positioning the airline for strong leisure demand into the year-end holidays.
At the same time, Avelo is maintaining its strategy of relatively low weekly frequencies, typically two to four flights per week on each route. That approach keeps costs down and allows the carrier to spread its fleet across a wider network while testing demand in new city pairs.
The fall expansion also comes as Avelo reports continued growth in passenger volumes and a broadened footprint that now spans more than twenty U.S. states, Puerto Rico and several Caribbean and Latin American destinations.
Illinois Gains New Direct Access to Underserved Cities
Illinois travelers are among the latest to benefit from Avelo’s shifting network map. New nonstop flights are being introduced this year that link the Chicago region to Avelo focus cities along the East Coast and in the Southeast, with service timed for the heavier travel periods from late summer into the fall.
From the greater Chicago market, Avelo is rolling out new links to Wilmington in Delaware and to Concord in the Charlotte region, giving Illinois travelers additional options for reaching the Mid Atlantic and southern Appalachia without requiring connections through the largest hub airports. The airline’s low frequency model means most of these flights will operate just a few times per week, but they are aimed squarely at cost-conscious leisure travelers looking for point to point convenience.
The Illinois additions complement earlier Midwestern growth, including service from Michigan to Florida and from upstate New York to Central Florida, underscoring Avelo’s strategy of piecing together a lattice of mid-sized city connections that bypass traditional connecting hubs.
Florida and Tennessee See Stronger Fall Leisure Links
Florida remains central to Avelo’s business plan, and this fall will bring another step up in service from the state. The airline has been steadily building a mini hub at Lakeland International in Central Florida, positioning it as a lower stress alternative to the larger airports in Tampa and Orlando. From Lakeland, Avelo has layered on a series of routes reaching into the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast, and fall schedules keep those links in place while adding capacity on peak days.
Recent expansions from Lakeland include nonstop flights to Detroit, Atlanta and Rochester, alongside existing service to destinations such as San Juan in Puerto Rico and several East Coast cities. For Florida based travelers, the growing network offers more nonstop choices to cooler weather destinations for autumn and early winter escapes, while inbound visitors gain a new gateway in the heart of the state’s theme park and Gulf Coast corridor.
Tennessee has also been a winner from Avelo’s eastward pivot. Concord, serving the Charlotte region, has emerged as a key spoke that connects into Florida, the Northeast and now the Midwest, including new flights to Chicago and Nashville that are scheduled around long weekend travel patterns. For Tennessee and Carolina travelers, these routes provide an alternative to busier hubs while still delivering access to popular leisure markets in Florida and beyond.
Puerto Rico and Michigan Strengthen Mainland Connections
Puerto Rico continues to figure prominently in Avelo’s growth plan heading into this fall. The carrier has treated San Juan as both a leisure destination for mainland travelers and a vital air link for diaspora communities in the continental United States. Nonstop routes from Central Florida and the Carolinas into San Juan are timing their schedules to capture peak demand around school breaks and holiday periods in late 2025 and 2026.
The island’s inclusion in the expanded route map further diversifies Avelo’s network beyond purely domestic U.S. flying and reflects the strong post pandemic rebound in Caribbean leisure travel. For Puerto Rico based passengers, the growing web of point to point flights offers additional ways to reach Midwestern and East Coast cities without relying solely on large legacy carriers.
In the Midwest, Michigan remains a focal point. Avelo has spent the past several seasons gradually scaling service from airports in the state to multiple Florida destinations, including Orlando and points along Florida’s Gulf Coast. More recently, new links from Florida back into Michigan and neighboring states have turned those routes into two way corridors, carrying both winter sun seekers and visiting friends and relatives traffic.
By combining service into Michigan with fresh routes touching Illinois and other neighboring states, Avelo is seeking to capture more of the region’s price sensitive travelers who are willing to use smaller airports in exchange for lower fares and shorter lines.
Strategic Bets on Secondary Airports for the Coming Season
The latest fall schedule moves show Avelo doubling down on its core strategy of flying where larger carriers have been reluctant to commit significant capacity. Rather than compete for market share in the most crowded hubs, the airline is adding point to point flights at airports such as Lakeland, Concord and Wilmington, as well as in Illinois and Michigan, where modest demand can still support a few weekly frequencies.
Industry analysts note that this approach allows Avelo to experiment with new routes entering each fall and winter travel season, ramping up or exiting based on performance. It also positions the carrier to take advantage of its planned fleet evolution later this decade, including the introduction of new, more fuel efficient aircraft that are well suited to shorter runways and smaller airports.
For travelers in Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, Puerto Rico and other markets tied into Avelo’s expanding network, the result this fall will be a broader range of nonstop options at comparatively low fares. As the airline continues to refine its eastward focus, these niche routes may increasingly shape how price conscious passengers move around the United States and its territories in the seasons ahead.