Recently, Avelo Airlines has canceled its plan over the service from Raleigh—Durham International Airport to Nassau, Bahamas. It’s one month before the launch. The carrier cities have lower demand than expected on this route.
It would have been operated twice a week & Avelo has been the only airline operating flights on the route. This continues serving its other international destinations from Raleigh—Durham and Hartford Bradley Airports. The flights between Raleigh—and Durham to Nassau are now not available for booking on the official carrier website.
Low Demand On New International Route
Meanwhile, Avelo planned to launch its flights to Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport, which will be starting on June 11th, 2025. This official statement came on March 11 as part of 13 new routes introduced by the airline. This was also on the back of the carrier’s inaugural flights to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic—seeking to expand its international network.
So far, Nassau was the airline’s fourth international destination and Raleigh—Durham International Airport’s 15th. This has provided more international connections to RDU than ever before. Meanwhile, Bahamas’ Bahamasair previously served Raleigh—Durham from Freeport but, from last year, has been canceled. Avelo began its operations out of the destination in 2022 and increased its presence at the airport.
Avelo Airlines said to Simple Flying, “We canceled our Nassau route. The demand and bookings were not where we wanted them to be, to be successful. We are still doing well with our Jamaica and Dominican Republic routes as well as our other domestic routes.”
Avelo Airlines’ Recent International Expansion
Avelo Airlines commenced passenger flights in 2021 and has explained internationally to Mexico, Jamacia, and the Dominican Republic. The carrier debuted its first-ever international route in November 2024. The route connected Harford’s Bradley International Airport to Montego Bay, Jamacia. The airline now has four weekly flights to Montego Bay, including two from Raleigh-Durham and two from Hartford.
Meanwhile, the airline’s second International route also came up in November, connecting Bradley Airport to Cancun, Mexico. This was the seasonal route operated twice a week with the Boeing 737. However, November saw Avelo launch up to six new services from Hartford. With the start of May 2025, the airline has nearly 600 nonstop flights from Bradley Airport.
Avelo’s first international destination from the Research Triangle’s Raleigh-Durham came in February, connecting the airport to Montego Bay. The second route to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, came shortly after. Avelo is currently the only airline offering nonstop services from RDU to these two Caribbean destinations.
Increasing Presence At Raleigh-Durham Airport
Avelo Airlines has been serving Raleigh-Durham for about 3 years. The base opened at the airport in February 2023 and expanded over the operations as was introduced in May 2022. Having received much support from RDU, Avelo continues to expand its presence. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Avelo has 16 weekly flights from RDU this month, flying to Albany, New Haven, Montego Bay, Manchester (New Hampshire), Punta Cana, Rochester, and Fort Myers.
Along with the Nassau announcement in March, the carrier introduced up to 13 new routes and three new destinations. The expansion included two additional routes from Raleigh-Durham: Grand Rapids (GRR), starting May 23 and operating twice weekly, and Philadelphia (ILG), starting May 22 and also operating twice weekly. Both routes are served by the 189-seat 737s.
This month, there are 18 airlines with nonstop scheduled passenger flights to Raleigh-Durham destinations. Delta Airlines is the largest carrier out of RDU, with 394 nonstop weekly flights, followed by American Airlines with 381. However, America offers 52,105 seats per week compared to Delta’s 48,797. Other carriers serving RDU include Southwest, United, Breeze, Frontier, and Air Canada.
