Avelo Inaugural Flight Celebration Charlottesville to Orlando

I am always on the lookout for when airlines launch new routes. Especially on routes from airports nearby, new connected services are always welcomed. It also opens up the opportunity for fun festivities at the airport, and that is exactly what happened for the Avelo inaugural flight celebration from Charlottesville to Orlando.

Airport Festivities

When I arrived at the airport, the first thing I did was check in because, besides checking out the festivities, I decided to fly the route. After flight check-in, I went to press check-in to get my lanyard and pass. 

After clearing security and waiting in the gate area, an Avelo PR individual guided me, some other journalists, and the UVA cheerleaders, out onto the tarmac to wait for the plane’s arrival. Watching the plane pull up to the gate from the tarmac and watching the water cannon salute was fun. However, I really wish I brought my proper camera for the event. 

After the passengers got off the plane, we got on board and talked to the pilot, which is always fun. Cav-Man (UVA mascot) and I pretended to be captain and co-pilot in the cockpit, which was a blast. 

After returning to the gate area, some important individuals spoke on behalf of the airport and Avelo before cutting the ceremonial ribbon. 

There was also food and goodies throughout this celebration. Goodies included CHO (Charlottesville Airport) sunglasses, Avelo shirts, and some goodie bags for the kids. For food, there was a catered barbecue and the coolest cake I have ever seen: a plane.

The Flight 

When it came time to board the flight, the gate agent made some fun announcements. In addition to recognizing the uniqueness of this inaugural event, she made some comments to hopefully get the handful of kids on the flight excited for Orlando, many of which were headed to Disney. 

On board, similar to other low-cost carriers, there was no complimentary in-flight service. I was able to study for finals comfortably in the bulkhead row. And just like that, two hours later, we landed in Orlando. 

The Last Point

The festivities for this Avelo inaugural flight celebration were a lot of fun. The Charlottesville airport was excited to get more nonstop service to its small home in central Virginia. Avelo was excited to launch a new route as a quickly growing carrier. 

I am looking forward to hopefully using this service as it saves a significant amount of time when flying South to Central Florida. I might also need to find the contact information of the person who made that cake… pretty cool.