Air Service One talks with, Mike Corcoran, Avelo Airlines Director of Network Planning
With ACI-NA JumpStart 2025 kicking off in Indianapolis this June, we had the opportunity to have a chat with Mike Corcoran, Avelo Airlines Director of Network Planning, to find out more about the success of the airline since the pandemic, what drives their destination decisions, and will the airline be looking to shake up its “Let’s keep it simple” business model! Read on for a deep dive into the airline that has just opened its 8th base!
Avelo Airlines began operations during the pandemic. How difficult was it to establish operations in those circumstances, especially considering the dominance of major carriers in the US market?
We saw an opportunity to carve out a niche in the US marketplace by serving secondary airports in major metro areas with simple, convenient and reliable service. There are plenty of airports around the US that have either lost service over the years or have had inconsistent, inconvenient or unreliable service, and the timing at the tail-end of the pandemic was right to take advantage of that absence in the market.
How does Avelo differentiate itself from other US airlines?
We generally look to build up secondary airports in major metro areas with markets to unserved or underserved destinations. Being the only carrier, or one of just a few carriers, at smaller airports enables us to insulate ourselves from large competitive capacity changes and maintain greater control over the customer experience we aim to provide than we would in large hubs.
Avelo has expanded to numerous destinations since its launch. How do you determine which markets to enter and what factors influence these decisions?
Many of the destinations we fly to have little or no service history to evaluate, so we rely more on public data. We typically start by looking at which metro areas have a population and an income growth rate outpacing the national average, and how far those people must drive to get to somewhere with good air service. If we think there’s a value proposition to be had with more convenient service to a metro via a tertiary airport, we add it.
Avelo just opened its eighth base, at Wilmington. What are the strategic advantages of these secondary airports?
Having greater scale at smaller or secondary airports lets us control our own destiny when it comes to infrastructure, operational reliability and Customer/Crewmember experience. We then look to add service where there’s a marked gap between regional demand and the number of seats in the metro O&D. We believed that Wilmington, N.C., for example, had been underserved both in terms of unique destinations and capacity to existing destinations, so we’ve been happy with the performance of the base even as other carriers catch on to the North Carolina Coast.
Apart from domestic operations, Avelo also maintains international flights to Jamaica, Mexico, Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Are there any other international markets on the horizon?
Yes, we’re looking at other Caribbean destinations as well as deepening service to existing destinations as performance warrants. We’re still fresh in the international space, so we’re seeing how the current routes mature.
Do you foresee adding red-eye or overnight flights as the network expands?
One of our standards is to “Keep it Simple.” Red-eyes would add crew and operational complexity to our network, but it’s not a hard-set rule to avoid them if there’s other benefit to be found. We’d certainly look to add red -eyes selectively if there’s reason to believe that it’s the best use of aircraft time without adding cost or operational risk. As a matter of fact, we’re going to try our first scheduled service red-eye this summer, HVN-SJU will fly overnight on some days of week.
Avelo operates a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. Are there plans to diversify the fleet, perhaps by incorporating newer models or different aircraft types?
No plans currently, but we are airframe agnostic.
The distinction between ULCCs and standard carriers is becoming increasingly blurred in the US with low-cost airlines introducing business class seats and various other perks. Is this something Avelo could explore in the future, or do you plan to stick to the ULCC model?
We’re still going to do our own thing. We’ll remain a low-cost carrier but will adjust our product offerings as needed to match what our Customers want and where we see value, not based on what our competitors are
The airline industry faces various challenges, from regulatory hurdles to ongoing economic fluctuations. What do you perceive as the most significant challenges for Avelo in the coming years?
Supply chain/aircraft delivery constraints have remained a challenge since the pandemic and we don’t see that alleviating any time soon. Broader economic/consumer sentiment is proving to be impactful in the nearer term, which we are monitoring closely along with the rest of the industry.
Looking ahead, where do you envision Avelo Airlines in the next five years in terms of market presence and service offerings?
Our approach to growth is centred on sustainability – we don’t want to get ahead of our skis. Our focus, both on the product and network side, is on where we can achieve the best P&L (profit and loss) outcome. Our “Keep it Simple” philosophy along with our modular approach to scheduling gives us the ability to move quickly and nimbly, so over the next five years you’ll see us continue to try new things and invest in what’s working.
