REDMOND, OR -- Avelo Airlines announced Wednesday flights from Redmond to Sonoma County Airport, California will start this summer. Avelo’s Jim Olsen tells KBND News this is the only non-stop route for those wanting to visit California Wine Country, the northern California Coast or the Redwoods. It’s also a short flight, “Little over an hour. Probably about an hour and 25 minutes or so. And the timing is going to be great. It’s on Fridays and Mondays, so you can basically go on a long weekend. Leave on a Friday and return on a Monday. Or you can stay up there for a week or two.” The new route benefits both popular tourism destinations. “It’s going to be a win-win for Sonoma to host visitors from Central Oregon, but it’s also going to be a win for this community as well. We think there’s going to be a lot of folks from Northern California that are going to want to take advantage of a non-stop flight to get up here and experience all that this region has to offer,” says Olsen.
Redmond Airport’s Zach Bass says the renowned wine-tasting destination was specifically chosen, “People are already traveling from here to there, and there to here. We’re kind of saying right now: trade your beer for a glass of wine, and maybe down there it’s trade your glass of wine for a beer. So, I think it’s a great connection between the two areas.”
A low-cost, promotional fare is available leading up to the first flight on June 23rd. Avelo Airlines began flying out of Redmond two years ago to Los Angeles, and added a Palm Springs route last Fall.
