Years of lobbying and a deal cut a year ago to temporarily suspend the taxation of aviation fuel preceded the announcement Wednesday that Avelo Airlines will use Bradley International Airport as the base for its first international destinations: Montego Bay, Jamaica and Cancun, Mexico.
Connecticut already is the largest base for the low-cost airline, which established commercial service at Tweed Airport in New Haven in November 2021 and now offers nonstop flights to 26 destinations from the smaller regional airport. The new routes from Bradley will add 80 jobs.
Andrew Levy, the founder and chief executive of Avelo, announced the new service at the state Capitol with Gov. Ned Lamont and some of the lawmakers who conducted what one legislator said was “contentious” negotiations to exempt aviation fuel for two years from the 8.1% gross receipts tax on aviation fuel.
“We know what we’re doing is working,” Levy said. “We have great customer satisfaction scores in Connecticut. And we’re just thrilled about the reception we’ve had since we’ve entered the state.”
Bradley International in Windsor Locks, which sits between Hartford and Springfield, offers Avelo a longer runway and the ability for longer flights than Tweed, as well as a customs portal and easier access to customers in western Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.
“Airports are a gateway to the nation and are a gateway to the world,” Lamont said.
House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said representatives of Avelo came into his office 18 months ago, saying that lower taxes on aviation fuel could allow the airline to offer international flights from Bradley. Ritter said lawmakers generally are wary of claims that tax savings won’t simply translate into profits.
“Here we are, true to their word, they have two international flights, they are now at Bradley, five domestic flights, and they did exactly what they said they were going to do,” Ritter said.
The state also is providing a guarantee against losses of up to $2 million, as the state has offered as inducements to other carriers to provide international service.
On Wednesday, Jet Blue also announced a major expansion of service at Bradley: the addition of 35 flights a week to Orlando, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale in Florida.
The suspension of the aviation fuel tax came at a cost to the state’s smaller airports: Bradley has its own revenue stream, but the state’s general-aviation airports typically received between $8 million and $10 million from the fuel tax, money that went to upkeep and improvements.
Three quarters of the aviation fuel tax revenue went to general aviation and the rest to the general fund.
Kevin Dillon, the executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, said the tax moratorium was an imperfect tool to entice commercial airlines as it also applies to private aviation. Dillon noted, however, that general-aviation airports such as Brainard in Hartford benefit commercial airlines by reducing congestion at Bradley.
Dillon said the authority opposed an indefinite suspension of aviation fuel taxes.
Under the deal struck last year, the 8.1% gross receipts will be replaced by an excise tax of 15 cents per gallon, beginning July 1, 2025.
Andrew Lawrence, of the locally based Caribbean Trade Council, said a direct route to Jamaica has long been sought, and he described a lobbying effort that dated to 2006. Jamaica and other West Indian islands have strong economic and personal ties to the Hartford region other than tourism.
Jamaican farm laborers regularly work in Connecticut on work visas. Jamaicans and other West Indians are a major immigrant group, with about 70,000 people in the Hartford region.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said the annual West Indian independence parade in Hartford is the second largest in North America.
Spirit Airlines ended service from Bradley to Jamaica in 2023, citing lower-than-expected demand. Levy said there is no guarantee of success with its service, but he believes the market is there with the right service and marketing.
“We had it. We lost it,” Ritter said. “And now we’re picking it back up, thanks to Avelo.”
Beginning on Nov. 7, Avelo will offer direct flights from Bradley to five domestic destinations in Texas, Florida and North Carolina: Houston; Daytona Beach and Orlando/Lakeland in Florida; and Charlotte/Concord and Wilmington in North Carolina. Service to Cancun and Montego Bay will begin on Nov. 16.
Two jets based at Bradley will serve the routes, each with twice-a-week flights: Wednesdays and Saturdays to Montego Bay and Cancun; Thursdays and Sundays to the North Carolina destinations; and Mondays and Fridays to Houston, Daytona Beach and Orlando/Lakeland.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.