Vision Departs AVL

When Vision Airlines—new to commercial aviation—began serving AVL in the spring of this year, we were one of 11 cities that acquired service. Summer travel to Florida has kept the flights full, but as the warm-weather season begins to wind down, the airline has decided to make some changes, including pulling service from nine cities across the U.S. Change like this happens all the time in the aviation industry—it’s just more noticeable at smaller airport. The good news for AVL is that Vision only constituted 1.5% of the total passengers through our airport, so it’s not going to have a major effect on the bottom line, but for our passengers who enjoyed the non-stop service to Florida’s panhandle, it is a disappointing change. So what’s to come? Our staff is constantly engaging in conversation with various airlines and advocating for new service in our area. We know how important convenient non-stop flights are to you and we take your requests for those top destinations (like Washington, D.C., Ft. Lauderdale, Denver, etc.) to the airlines and ask them to consider bringing new routes (and lower fares!) to our community. So fear not: Changes are a normal part of the aviation industry and we’re always looking toward the future and the next positive change for our airport and our community. We appreciate all the great support from our travelers through the changes -- the positive tweets, comments, wall posts and e-mails. Keep them coming, and keep flying local!