« The airline Avelo began direct flights from Burbank, California, to Redmond in May. It’s not the only smaller airline that sees potential in Central Oregon. Submitted photo

Avelo Airlines will add nonstop flights connecting Redmond to Sonoma/Santa Rosa, Calif., starting June 23.

The flights will be the only direct connection between beery Central Oregon and the Sonoma County Airport in California’s wine country.

Flights, using a Boeing 737, will take off for the first time on June 23 and operate on Mondays and Fridays thereafter. The about one hour flights will leave Redmond about 3 p.m. and then return with passengers from Santa Rosa. The back-and-forth flights will also happen on Mondays to make for easy weekend getaways, said the airline.

“We think its going to be a really popular two-way destination,” said Jim Olsen, head of communications at Avelo, who made the announcement April 26.

Introductory one-way fares will start at $34, said Olsen. They can be purchased at aveloair.com until May 8 for travel that takes places through September.

Avelo is a low-cost airline that started just two years ago, with service between Redmond and Burbank Airport in Los Angeles as one of their first flight offerings. Last August, the company expanded its Redmond destinations by adding a seasonal, non-summer route connecting with Palm Springs, Calif. Those flights were successful, said Olsen, which is why they decided to add the Santa Rosa routes.

Zach Bass, airport director, said adding additional destinations is a major priority for the airport. He said that reconnecting with Portland and Las Vegas are major goals in the next five years. Chicago and Dallas remain expansion priorities as well, he said.

“Adding another new nonstop destination further demonstrates the draw of Central Oregon tourism as well as our vibrant business community,” said RDM airport committee chair Sean Neary in a press release.