Avelo Airlines plans nonstop service to 5 destinations from McKinney National Airport

Avelo will operate flights with two 184-seat Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft based at the airport, according to the news release. The service will create more than 100 new local jobs with Avelo Airlines. Those jobs will include pilots, flight attendants, aircraft technicians and airport personnel.

One-way fares start at $99, and reservations are open through Avelo Airlines’ website. In a statement, Avelo Airlines founder and CEO Andrew Levy said airline officials were “thrilled to be the launch and anchor airline at McKinney."

“As a proud Texas-born company, we are excited to grow our presence in North Texas and Collin County, one of the fastest growing areas in America,” Levy said.

The details

Flights will start Nov. 11 and will be operated at varying frequencies depending on the destination. Here is a breakdown of frequencies for each destination:

• DTX to LAS (Las Vegas, Nevada)
  • Flights begin Nov. 12
  • Four times weekly (Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays)
• DTX to FLL (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
  • Flights begin Nov. 19
  • Five times weekly (Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays)
• DTX to RSW (Fort Myers, Florida)
  • Flights begin Nov. 11
  • Twice weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
• DTX to MCO (Orlando, Florida)
  • Flights begin Nov. 12
  • Five times weekly (Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays)
• DTX to TPA (Tampa, Florida)
  • Flights begin Nov. 19
  • Four times weekly (Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays)

“As growth continues to reshape North Texas, McKinney is playing an increasingly important role in the region’s future,” Cox said in a statement. “This new service reflects the demand for convenient air travel closer to home and reinforces McKinney’s position as a destination for residents, businesses and investment.”

McKinney National Airport Director Ken Carley said he was “proud” of the collective efforts that will “culminate in November 2026” when the new passenger terminal is opened.

“City of McKinney and airport leaders have prioritized these goals since 2019, and I am deeply grateful to the many committed individuals and agencies that have worked together to accomplish this milestone,” Carley said in a statement. “McKinney travelers have many new developments to look forward to, including saving time and money as they can now fly from their local airport on an airline that is committed to serving the travel needs of and investing in our community.”

In their own words

Carley said it was a "milestone day" for McKinney National Airport and Avelo Airlines.

“It’s nice to celebrate the victories along the way,” he said. “It’s a huge undertaking, obviously, to get to where we are so it’s great to just be able to share with the community.”

Construction is continuing on the passenger service terminal. The drywall has been installed and crews are starting interior work like painting and floor tiling, Carley said.

“From a construction standpoint, everything is looking really good,” he said.

With commercial service launching later this year, airport officials are also planning to additional employee positions for a dispatch department and operations department, Carley said.

McKinney National Airport sees about 400 operations a day, which includes takeoffs and landings, Carley said. A majority of those operations are from general aviation and training flights, he said. Avelo's flight plans means an additional four takeoffs on some days at the airport.

“In an environment where there’s already 400 operations a day, it’s a minute tick up,” Carley said. “I don’t think it’s going to have any issues with capacity or anything like that.”

Diving in deeper

With Avelo launching commercial service, the airline applied for a new location code from the International Air Transport Association, a trade association that represents over 370 airlines across the world. IATA is identifying the airport as DTX for commercial service.

The airport still has TKI as its location identifier from the Federal Aviation Administration, Carley said. It would have been nice to align both codes, but IATA had already assigned the TKI identifier to another airport in Alaska, he said.

Airlines have to apply for those location identifiers, and they drive a lot of “back-of-house operations” including ticketing and baggage handling, Carley said.

What else?

Avelo officials have been interested in serving the McKinney market for the last several years, Levy said. The airline’s strategy has been to target secondary airports within large metropolitan areas, he said.

McKinney was a “perfect example” of the kind of place airline officials had in mind, he said.

“Now, it’s about to be a reality,” Levy said. “They’ve made the big investments that are required and of course, we’re making the big investment on our end to be here.”

From a customer perspective, offering service at a smaller airport means offering a different experience compared to the other airports in Dallas-Fort Worth, he said.

“I’ve never met somebody who prefers to go to a big airport if they can fly out of a small airport,” he said. "I just haven’t met that person yet.”

Operating out of secondary airports also enables Avelo to “stay on time more easily,” he said. While McKinney National Airport has a lot of corporate activity, the taxi times for planes are going to be much lower compared to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, he said.

“It helps us stay on time,” he said. “That helps us be more efficient, which is one of the things that helps us keep our costs down and keep our prices down.”

The destinations were selected because the markets are “five of the biggest leisure markets in the United States,” he said.

“These are pretty popular places to go to,” he said.

Looking ahead

More flight destinations could come later, but the pace at which Avelo expands its operations in McKinney will be “dictated by consumer demand,” Levy said.

“We’ve very bullish that we’ll have a chance to add more markets and more flights,” he said. “But the consumer will lead us and we’ll see where we go.”

Since the announcement, the airline has already sold more than 100 seats, and “all five markets are off to a very exciting” start, Levy said.

“We got a long way to go, but we’re extremely excited about this market, and the next big day will be Nov. 11 when we actually fly our first flight out of here,” he said.