Air Flo Airlines (Miami International) has secured seed funding and retained a "major aviation-focused investment bank" for "the big raise" as it plans to launch scheduled services with a fleet of A220s, Founder Ed Wegel said.
The start-up is backed by AVi8 Air Capital, Wegel's investment firm where he is the managing director. It has drawn up a business plan and will be overseeing Air Flo's certification while Tailwinds Aviation, a lessor led by former Avi8 Air Capital and AWAS executive Ray Sisson, has been tasked with aircraft acquisition.
Wegel declined to disclose any more details when approached by ch-aviation.
The resurrection of the AirFlo project comes shortly after Wegel left GlobalX (G6, Miami International) where he was chairman and chief executive officer. The idea of launching Air Flo Airlines first emerged in 2021, at that time aiming to focus on a B717-200 fleet. After GlobalX launched, the initiative was parked.
Besides GlobalX, Wegel has also held executive positions at ACA - Atlantic Coast Airlines, Eastern Airlines, JetBlue Airways, BWIA West Indies Airways, Republic Airways, and Chautauqua Airlines.