One commercial airline is ready to make big changes at Wilmington International Airport
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY)– Waving Dominican flags, getting sprayed down by a fire truck, this is how Wilmington International Airport celebrated its first commercial international flight to Punta Cana Dominican Republic.
“What a great way to start the holiday season on Christmas Eve. You don’t have to cook, you don’t have to clean, you get to head down and be at a warm Caribbean beach”, said Avelo Airline’s Communications Manager Courtney Goff.
The flight was provided by Avelo airlines, who have been flying from ILM since June 2022. Goff says that Avelo likes to do things a little bit differently than other Airlines; like flying to locations that are not serviced by other airlines like New Haven, Connecticut, which is an alternative to New York City airports.
Avelo also doesn’t fly every day, and some flights are purely seasonal. There is one other strategy that keeps costs down.
“We also like to let the customer choose what they value. Sometimes other airlines will bundle everything. You might be paying for those snacks, bags, and extra fees that you might not need”, said Goff.
It seems to be working as they have flown over 5,000 flights over three years, and as of 2025, they have 15 non-stop routes.
They have been getting some competition from Breeze Airways, who are flying into some of Avelo’s cities.
“Obviously, there’s been a couple of airlines that have kind of jumped on routes that we’ve already served. We’re working with our network to make sure that it’s doable for two airlines”, said Goff.
The notoriety has come with a price. This past November, protestors criticized Avelo after it and other airlines contracted with the department of homeland security to deport illegal immigrants.
“We fly for all branches of the government. It’s not just the Department of Homeland Security. We do the Department of defense; we honor flights for veterans going back to Washington D.C. or to various other places across the country. We’ve done this for both administrations, both the current and the past administration, and all other airlines do it”, said Goff.
Looking forward to 2026, Goff says the airline has big plans
“We announced that we will be ordering 50 new Ember Air 195-E2 aircraft, which are much more cost-effective. They are 2 and 2 seats, so there is no middle seat, and that will allow us to expand our network, add more planes to our various bases, like in Wilmington”, said Goff.
Director of ILM, Jeff Bourk, says Avelo’s growth in conjunction with the expansion of the airport, bodes well for fliers.
“We think they are great partners. We are glad they are part of our community”, said Bourk.
With the recent success, Goff hopes that Avelo creates more jobs in the future.
“We have two planes that sleep overnight and live in Wilmington. We also have pilots, flight attendants, customer support, maintenance, and a bunch of other different job opportunities that are in Wilmington. When we first started, we hired upwards of about 20 to 30 people. Now, I believe we have almost 50 crew members, and we’re still continuously hiring”, said Goff.
