Avelo Airlines has announced they will pause their flights between the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee and Orlando for May before resuming the twice-weekly route on a new schedule.
After April 28th there will be no flights on Avelo out of the Mosinee facility. The schedule will pick back up on June 5th with flights shifting to a Wednesday and Saturday schedule. Airport Director Brian Grefe says that shouldn’t be taken as a bad sign.
“The pause is strategic by [Avelo,] said Grefe. “Typically there isn’t as much travel to Orlando just before school gets out. So rather than eat up the minimum revenue guarantee, which we have with them as a new carrier, we said let’s pause, and come back flying when we know we can fill those plains up.”
Officials with Avelo call the break an “operational adjustment aimed at optimizing demand for Central Florida from Central Wisconsin.” The flight is now listed as “seasonal” on their route map, though a representative from Avelo said their goal is to keep the flight on their schedule through the end of the year.
Avelo is currently booking flights through August 31st. Their fall and early winter schedule will be written later this summer.
Grefe says his interactions with the Houston, TX-based discount carrier remain positive, and he feels like he has some fans in their boardroom. “Every month that they’ve flown [from CWA] the load factors have increased. They see that as a positive, now it’s just a matter of watching [what happens] this summer.
“They like us, and they like how much we use them,” added Grefe.
The Director also feels like it’s only a matter of time before Avelo adds a second destination from CWA. The airline recently opened a hub in Las Vegas that operates a few flights to cities in California, but he thinks CWA would be a natural addition to that roster.
“Las Vegas has moved up to our #1 destination out of Central Wisconsin. That’s one of the low-hanging fruits we will certainly be pursuing with Avelo,” said Grefe.
Avelo launched their round-trip flights to Orlando last summer with officials from both the airline and the airport calling the route a success. The airline also added some Tuesday flights during the Thanksgiving and Christmas travel season.
