America's third-smallest state is home to the hottest airline turf battle

28.08.2024 - 20:36 / thepointsguy.com

America's third-smallest state by land mass is suddenly at the center of the nation's latest airline turf war.

Leading the way in this fight over Connecticut runway real estate? The U.S. airline industry's two newest carriers: Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways.

Last month, Avelo made headlines when it announced its first-ever service from the Nutmeg State's biggest airport, Hartford's Bradley International Airport (BDL), starting this fall.

The new routes were notable for a few reasons.

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For one, it was Avelo's first international expansion. The list of new routes from Hartford included nonstop service to Cancun, Mexico, and Montego Bay, Jamaica — flights that begin in November.

By expanding to Hartford, Avelo also broadened its Connecticut footprint beyond Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN), a tiny airport about an hour's drive from Hartford, where Avelo is currently the only airline — and where it has based a lot of its Northeast growth.

Adding service from Hartford, Avelo executives say, was a practical move. It doubles down on the airline's breakneck growth in Connecticut — not to mention, allows it to gain access to BDL's international arrivals facilities.

"It's not some big deviation or change from what we've been doing," Trevor Healy, Avelo's head of commercial, said in a recent interview with TPG. "We've got a phenomenal customer base in and around New Haven and Connecticut."

But Hartford is also where fellow newcomer airline Breeze has proclaimed its own plans to add flights at a rapid pace in the coming years — including its own future international expansion from the airport.

Now, that alone might not amount to a gloves-off, Avelo-Breeze showdown.

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After all, airlines across the board are adding tons of flights to and from Hartford: This winter (between October and April), airlines will fly with 20% more seats out of the airport than last year, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. This is led by 40% growth by United Airlines, 35% growth by JetBlue and 20% growth by American Airlines.

But then things got a little more interesting.

On Aug. 13, Breeze announced its own Connecticut expansion, revealing it would join Avelo at New Haven, becoming just the second airline at an airport that, until recently, had gone several years without regularly scheduled commercial service.

In the process, Breeze will compete with Avelo directly on more than a half dozen routes between New Haven and the Southeast.

What say the airlines?

"We're just going to focus on what we do, what we can control ... and that doesn't change whether there's another carrier at New Haven or