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At 10:26 a.m. on Wednesday, Avelo Airlines Flight 733 from Orlando, Fla., touched down at Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport, taxied under a massive water arch provided by two greenish-yellow airport fire trucks, and pulled up to Gate 2.
The spectacle marked the inauguration of the Houston-based discount carrier’s service to Brownsville — its first destination in Texas. Founded in April 2021, Avelo has been flying routes on the East and West coasts but not in its home state, not until now.
The airline announced in February that it was bringing direct, nonstop service to Orlando, Fla., and Burbank, Calif., from Brownsville beginning May 17, and on Wednesday a big crowd was on hand at the airport’s new terminal building, which opened in January 2021, for the welcome celebration.
Newly sworn-in city officials including Mayor John Cowen were among those on hand for the event, which featured performances by the Gladys Porter High School dance team and drum line.
Travis Christ, Avelo’s head of marketing, said a lot of people assumed Houston would be the airline’s first Texas destination, but “then we threw the big curve-ball and took a chance on Brownsville.”
In addition to Burbank and Orlando, Avelo flies to Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington, N.C., and New Haven, Conn., which had no air service at all, he said. Like those cities, Brownsville is “relatively small but deserving of service,” Christ said. Avelo flies new 737-700 and 800 series aircraft exclusively and is continuing to expand, he said.
“We’re going at a pretty good clip,” Christ said. “We’ve got 15 airplanes today. They’re all 737s. We’ll have maybe 18 airplanes by the end of the year.”
It’s hard to find new 737s because of high demand for the aircraft worldwide, though “we’re getting new airplanes as quickly as we can,” he said.
“What that could mean for Brownsville is, we do well on these routes, we could add something else,” Christ said. “We’re flying twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays, to Burbank and Orlando now. We could add more days a week. Potentially we could add cities. It’s pretty straightforward for airlines: The routes that do well get more flying.”
For now the carrier is flying to California and Florida from Brownsville Wednesdays and Saturdays. Christ thanked everyone in attendance for supporting the airline’s presence here.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed as fellow Texans, to make Texas work for Avelo and all of Texas,” he said. “So we’re super happy to be here. … We look forward to being here for a very long time.”
Cowen, who was sworn in May 16, said Avelo’s arrival “marks a significant milestone in the history of our city and the entire Rio Grande Valley,” adding that the airline has a reputation for “excellent service, reliability and affordability.” He predicted the additional air service would strengthen the local economy and boost tourism while making the region “more accessible to business travelers and tourists.”
“We look forward to the continued success and expansion of this relationship,” Cowen said.
City Manager Helen Ramirez said Avelo’s decision to make Brownsville its first Texas destination was “amazing,” and thanked the airline for believing in the city.
“We knew the numbers were there,” she said. “We had already improved our number of passengers to over pre-COVID levels.”
Airport Director Bryant Walker said it’s the first time an air carrier has offered 737 service in Brownsville.
“We’re providing the newest, freshest service in the freshest terminal with the best airplanes and the newest airline,” he said.
At 12:48 p.m., the Avelo 737 left Brownsville with the first load of passengers bound for Orlando. The first inbound flight from Hollywood Burbank Airport arrived at 1:30 p.m. and took off again at 2:25 p.m. for the return trip west.
One-way fares to and from Brownsville currently start at $89, though fares must be booked by May 31 and travel completed by June 30.
