Avelo Airlines could soon be offering flights out of Lakeland Linder airport

LAKELAND — Lakeland Linder International Airport officials hope to offer commercial passenger flights operated by Avelo Airlines by the summer.

Lakeland commissioners will be asked to approve an operating agreement between the ultra low-cost carrier and Lakeland Linder at their Dec. 18 meeting. If approved, it would be the first commercial airline to operate out of the municipal-owned airport in over a decade.

"Our airport has been waiting for a long time to welcome air service back to Lakeland," Airport Director Kris Hallstrand said.

Avelo, which is pronounced so it rhymes with yellow, is a low-cost carrier based out of Houston that launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021. It has rapidly grown to serve more than 40 U.S. destinations and recently launched its first international flights to Puerto Rico, as reported by Forbes.

Hallstrand said the carrier primarily focuses on providing flights to secondary markets, or smaller urban cities. Some of its main hubs are in Connecticut's Tweed-New Haven Airport and Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport.

"We are excited about the opportunity for Avelo to bring scheduled commercial air service to Lakeland Linder International Airport," Avelo spokesman Jim Olson said in a press statement. "In the months ahead, we’ll share more details about our plans for serving Lakeland. We are thankful for the enthusiastic support Avelo has received from the Lakeland community, as well as from city and county leaders. We are especially appreciative of the dedicated professionals at the Lakeland Linder International Airport."

No details were available yet as to what flights Avelo will be offering out of Lakeland. Hallstrand said she expects the carrier will slowly ramp up its operations to five flights a day, a total of 10 takeoffs and landings.

"We think this is a great opportunity for our community and for the airport to be able to provide service to some of our folks in the local area," she said.

Why Avelo Airlines?

The city was introduced to Avelo through a third-party vendor Volaire Aviation Inc., which was contracted in August 2018 to assist in bringing in a commercial carrier. Lakeland Linder will pay Volaire a $50,000 "finder fee" provided the contract is approved.

Adam Lunn, assistant director of Lakeland Linder, said the airport was intentionally seeking to work with airlines.

"We were really targeting the airlines that were expanding," he said. "When we looked at the market and what all the different carriers were doing at this time, there were a few that were more aggressive with their expansion opportunities. We targeted those first."

Avelo was the first to jump on the opportunity to begin negotiating an operating contract with Lakeland Linder, Lunn said.

"We continue to talk with other carriers including American [Airlines]," he said.

Lunn said he expected it might take longer for a large commercial carrier to be attracted to Lakeland given some of the industry conditions. It's been widely reported major airlines are facing pilot and crew shortages, along with a need to update aging fleets.

"In order to get through the glass ceiling of, 'Is Lakeland big enough to sustain an airline,' we need someone willing to take the risk and the opportunity to come and serve our community," Hallstrand said. "Avelo has stepped up to the plate and is excited about serving our community and the tourism industry here in Polk County and Central Florida."

What will it cost?

Lakeland Linder will seek a nearly $3.4 million internal loan from the city for several improvements needed to accommodate commercial passengers. The airport's terminal will need to be remodeled for the installation of the federal Transportation Security Administration's security screenings. The airport will also need to add long-term parking for passengers and painted parking positions for the airline's aircraft, Hallstrand said.

Lakeland Linder's staff has a goal to finish these improvements by May 15 to allow Avelo to begin operations.

The airport has budgeted roughly $600,000 to purchase an Aircraft Fire Rescue Truck, Hallstrand said, as the airport needs a more reliable secondary back-up vehicle with the anticipated operation of a commercial airline.

As Lakeland Linder does not have traditional gates, passengers will be loaded onto Avelo's Boeing 737s using a switchback, or exterior covered ramp that is wheelchair accessible.

Hallstrand said the airport is seeking federal funding to begin architectural design work to map out future expansion of the terminal, which she noted "will become space limited pretty quickly."

The proposed operating agreement between LLIA and Avelo does not contain a "backstop," or a revenue guarantee where the carrier is subsidized if necessary to guarantee it operates at a profit. Lakeland and Polk County pledged $1 million each, for a total of $2 million into a fund to lure commercial service if needed.

"We have pulled that back, and I was very happy when that happened," Hallstrand said. "I'm looking for that true partner who believes in our community."

Instead, Avelo is being offered an airport incentive program, Hallstrand said. It's designed to waive various operating fees — terminal use, landing fees, fuel flowage fees — the carrier would pay to the airport based on its level of operations for up to two years.

"It's something we do to incentivize the airline and help them set up to succeed," Hallstrand said. "It takes time to build a business."

By waiving or crediting Avelo for these fees, Hallstrand said Lakeland Linder will expect to make revenue off increased traffic to related services such as rental cars, concessions and food sales and fees paid by transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft if picking up passengers from the airport.

Lakeland Linder also has pledged to provide $30,000 a year for localized marketing to potential passengers in Polk County as part of the proposed agreement.

More jets equals more noise

Hallstrand made this much clear: Bringing commercial passenger flights to Lakeland Linder will increase the number of jets taking off and landing per day, leading to an increase in noise.

"This increases larger jets flying at the airport. It can't not," she said. "If we're going to have passenger service, we are going to have a little bit more aircraft noise over the community."

The airport recently held a pubic forum in November to allow residents to view newly proposed flight and departure procedures designed by Texas-based Hughes Aerospace Corp. to help minimize noise by bringing planes in along the Polk Parkway.

Hallstrand said all the public feedback and the airport's documents have been sent off to the Federal Aviation Administration for their review and, hopefully, their approval.

"We will work with the airlines to follow our Hughes approach. We will ask them to adhere to that approach if at all possible to minimize the impact of noise on the community," she said.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland appears to have reached a deal with Avelo Airlines