Avelo Adds Denver, Four Routes at Dallas's New DTX

The Points Guy reports Avelo is expanding McKinney National Airport to 10 routes — including a first-ever Denver destination — before flights even start in November.

According to The Points Guy, Avelo Airlines has added four more routes at McKinney National Airport (DTX), the Dallas area's newest passenger airport, even though its first flights there do not take off until November. The new routes begin in mid-December: four-times-weekly service to Atlanta (ATL) and to Denver (DEN) starting December 16, and twice-weekly flights to Nashville (BNA) and New Orleans (MSY) starting December 17. The Points Guy notes Denver is a brand-new destination for the Houston-based discounter, never before on its map. With these additions, Avelo's planned DTX roster reaches 10 routes — the headline figure both The Points Guy and Cedar News use for the expansion.

What makes this expansion notable, as The Points Guy frames it, is the timing and the setting. DTX has never offered regularly scheduled passenger service, and the Federal Aviation Administration only issued its commercial operating certificate — a prerequisite for air service — on September 26. Committing to 10 routes and three based aircraft before a single scheduled departure has operated is an aggressive bet for a discounter in a metro area already anchored by Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), American's hub, and Love Field (DAL), Southwest's hub. The airport sits roughly 35 miles from both, in the far northeast corner of a rapidly growing metropolitan area, according to The Points Guy.

The pack's sources align on the underlying schedule. The first flights from DTX are set for November 11, with Avelo nonstops to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Fort Myers-area Southwest Florida International (RSW), Las Vegas (LAS), Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA), per The Points Guy and Cedar News. The Points Guy adds that Avelo will base three Boeing 737-800s, each with 186 seats, at DTX by December.

For travelers, the expansion means a third commercial airport option in the Dallas area, potentially closer for residents of the fast-growing northeastern suburbs who currently face long drives to DFW or Love Field. For Avelo, per The Points Guy's framing, DTX is a significant expansion bet in one of America's largest metro areas, with Denver marking the carrier's entry into a major mountain-west market. The near-term milestones to watch: the November 11 first departures, the December 16 start of Atlanta and Denver service, and whether the twice-weekly Nashville and New Orleans routes prove demand justifies further growth at an airport still awaiting its first paying passenger.