Avelo Airlines

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"Casino Express" redirects here. For the former Finnish passenger ferry, see MS Casino Express.

Avelo Airlines
Avelo Airlines Logo.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
XP VXP AVELO
Founded1987 (as Casino Express Airlines)
Commenced operations
  • December 8, 2005 (2005-12-08)
  • (as Xtra Airways)
  • April 28, 2021 (2021-04-28)
  • (as Avelo Airlines)
AOC #BJNA472B[1]
Operating bases
Fleet size5
Destinations10
Parent companyHouston Air Holdings, Inc.
HeadquartersHouston, Texas, U.S.
Key peopleAndrew Levy (Chairman & CEO)
Employees300[citation needed]
Websitewww.aveloair.com

Avelo Airlines (formerly Casino Express Airlines, then Xtra Airways) is an American ultra-low-cost carrier headquartered in Houston, Texas, with flight operations based out of Hollywood Burbank Airport in California.[2][3] The airline's first flight under the Avelo name was on April 28, 2021 from Burbank to Santa Rosa, California.[4] Avelo is certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct domestic and international operations.[1]

History[]

Casino Express Airlines[]

A former Casino Express Boeing 737-200 in 1994

Established in 1987 as Casino Express Airlines, the air carrier began operations in 1989 using Boeing 737-200 jetliners flying exclusively for the Red Lion Hotel and Casino in Elko, Nevada. Casino Express operated 737 jet service from Elko Regional Airport nonstop to many cities in the US. In 1994, Casino Express was operating scheduled weekend only flights nonstop between Elko (EKO) and Portland, Oregon, (PDX) and Seattle (SEA) with McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jetliners.[5] Casino Express Airlines also operated one Boeing 737-200 jetliner for the start-up airline Tahoe Air, which provided scheduled passenger air service from the South Lake Tahoe Airport nonstop flights to Los Angeles International Airport in southern California and also nonstop service to San Jose International Airport in northern California.

Xtra Airways[]

A former Xtra Airways Boeing 737-800 landing at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in 2017

Casino Express quickly expanded its customer base to include sports teams, government agencies, foreign dignitaries, press corps, other gaming properties, and other types of public and private charters. It changed its name to Xtra Airways on December 8, 2005, to reflect its broader focus.[6]

Xtra Airways changed its aircraft livery in 2015 to an executive jet style, displaying flag blue and red stripes.[7]

In September 2016,[8] it began operating a Boeing 737-800 (registration: N881XA), repainted in a sky-blue and white livery with "Stronger Together" titles, for the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign.[9] Soon afterward a second aircraft, Boeing 737-400 (N314XA), was also pressed into service for the campaign, painted with a sky blue stripe and "Clinton/Kaine" titles.[10]

Avelo Airlines[]

An Avelo Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Hollywood Burbank Airport in 2021

Andrew Levy, a former chief financial officer (CFO) for United Continental Holdings and a former CFO, president and chief operations officer of Allegiant Air, acquired Xtra in August 2018, with the intent of transforming the charter airline into a scheduled low-cost airline.[11] Xtra had sold most of its fleet to Swift Air, but kept one Boeing 737-400 to retain its FAA Part 121 Regularly Scheduled Air Carrier certification.[12] By April 2019, the airline was considering operating Boeing 737-800s due to the Boeing 737 MAX groundings.[13]

In February 2020, Levy announced the new holding company for Xtra, named Houston Air Holdings, Inc., reflecting the company's Houston headquarters. The same month, the company raised US$125 million in funding and received its first airplane from GE Capital Aviation Services ahead of its plans to launch scheduled operations later in 2020.[2]

On April 8, 2021, the new airline was announced under the name Avelo Airlines, and began selling tickets for flights based at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California.[14][15][16] Its initial route network consisted of eleven unserved destinations from Burbank, launching between April 28 and May 20, 2021,[14] with an initial fleet of three Boeing 737-800s, expanding to six by the end of 2021.[17][18] Avelo's announcement of its entry into scheduled flight operations was met with competitive response initially from American and Alaska Airlines, with American upgauging the aircraft on its existing route between Phoenix Sky Harbor and Burbank, while Alaska announced a new service between Burbank and Santa Rosa to start on June 1, 2021.[19] Avelo's inaugural flight occurred on April 28, 2021, which traveled from its Burbank base to Santa Rosa's Sonoma County Airport.[4]

Following the airline's launch in late April, Avelo announced on May 6, 2021 that it would open a new base at Tweed New Haven Airport in Connecticut during the third quarter of 2021. The airline additionally announced that it planned to invest US$1.2 million toward the New Haven airport's facilities, and that it would use Boeing 737-700 aircraft for its operations at the new base.[20] The airline on July 7, 2021 announced changes to its network, consisting of its flights to Bozeman and Grand Junction which would terminated by the end of September,[21] while by July 29, 2021, the airline announced an additional five destinations including Fort Collins, Las Vegas, Monterey, Provo, and St. George,[22][23] although the planned flights to Monterey and St. George were later cancelled.[24] On August 19, 2021, details of the airline's operations at its New Haven base were revealed, with four routes between New Haven and destinations in Florida announced to launch during November 2021.[25]

Destinations[]

As of August 2021, Avelo operates flights to the following destinations within the United States:[26]

State City Airport Start date End date Notes Refs
Arizona Phoenix Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport May 3, 2021 August 16, 2021 Terminated [14][27]
California Burbank Hollywood Burbank Airport April 28, 2021 Present Base [14]
Eureka Arcata-Eureka Airport May 19, 2021 Present [14]
Redding Redding Municipal Airport May 20, 2021 Present [14]
Santa Rosa Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport April 28, 2021 Present [14]
Colorado Fort Collins Northern Colorado Regional Airport October 6, 2021 — Future [23]
Grand Junction Grand Junction Regional Airport May 9, 2021 August 16, 2021 Terminated [14][21]
Connecticut New Haven Tweed New Haven Airport November 3, 2021 — Base
Future		 [20][25]
Florida Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport November 5, 2021 — Future [25]
Fort Myers Southwest Florida International Airport November 11, 2021 — Future [25]
Orlando Orlando International Airport November 3, 2021 — Future [25]
Tampa Tampa International Airport November 8, 2021 — Future [25]
Montana Bozeman Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport April 30, 2021 September 15, 2021 [14][21]
Nevada Las Vegas McCarran International Airport September 16, 2021 — Future [22]
Oregon Eugene Eugene Airport May 12, 2021 Present [14]
Medford Rogue Valley International–Medford Airport May 9, 2021 Present [14]
Redmond Redmond Municipal Airport May 13, 2021 Present [14]
Utah Ogden Ogden-Hinckley Airport May 4, 2021 Present [28]
Provo Provo Municipal Airport September 17, 2021 — Future [23]
Washington Pasco Tri-Cities Airport April 29, 2021 Present [29]

Fleet[]

Current fleet[]

An Avelo Airlines 737-800 (N802XT) sits in Santa Rosa, CA (STS) after its inaugural flight from Burbank on April 28, 2021.

As of July 2021, the Avelo Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft:[30]

Avelo Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-700 2 1 149 Former Southwest Airlines aircraft.
To be based in New Haven.[20]
Boeing 737-800 3 3 189 3 more to join the fleet during 2021.[17][18]
Total 5 4

Former fleet[]

As Xtra Airways, the airline previously operated the following aircraft:[31]

Avelo Airlines former fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 737-200 7 1994 2005
Boeing 737-300 1 2010 2011 Transferred to IAero Airways
Boeing 737-400 12 2006 2020

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Airline Certificate Information". US Federal Aviation Administration.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Bachman, Justin (February 12, 2020). "Former United CFO raises $125 million for U.S. start-up airline". Bloomberg News. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "About XTRA Airways". LinkedIn.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Wheels Up: Avelo Airlines Takes Off with First Flight Between Burbank and Santa Rosa" (Press release). Avelo Airlines. April 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Sept. 15, 1994 OAG Desktop Flight Guide, North American Edition, Elko, NV (EKO) flight schedules
  6. ^ Compart, Andrew (February 5, 2006). "Casino Express changes name, flies in a different direction: Travel Weekly". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  7. ^ "XTRA Airways Introduces a New Livery, Completes its Move to the Miami Area". World Airline News. August 28, 2015.
  8. ^ hermes (September 7, 2016). "Journalists get to join Clinton on new aircraft". The Straits Times. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  9. ^ Atapattu, Suresh A. (September 30, 2016). "Aviation Photo #4005779: Boeing 737-86J — Untitled". Airliners.net. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  10. ^ Gimmillaro, Chris (October 5, 2016). "Aviation Photo #4009879: Boeing 737-484 – Xtra Airways". Airliners.net. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  11. ^ Kaplan, Seth (April 2, 2019). "New Ultra-Low-Cost Airline Led By Former United Executive Aims To Take Off This Year". Here & Now. WBUR-FM. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "US investor to try to launch new ULCC based on XTRA Airways". ch-aviation. April 5, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Bachman, Justin (April 2, 2019). "United Air's Former CFO to Launch a New U.S. Budget Airline". Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l "Meet Avelo: America's Newest Airline" (Press release). PRNewsWire. April 8, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  15. ^ Rucinski, Rachel (April 8, 2021). "New U.S. budget airline Avelo seeks niche on West Coast". Reuters.
  16. ^ Brancaccio, David; Garretson, Meredith; Conlon, Rose (April 8, 2021). "New low-fare airline launches, focusing on smaller airports". Marketplace. Minnesota Public Radio.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b McKenty, Natasha (April 14, 2021). "New low-cost carrier, Avelo Airlines, to serve western U.S. for as little as $19 one-way". Skies Mag. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b Wolfsteller, Pilar (April 12, 2021). "Andrew Levy's low-cost Avelo Airlines hits the ground running". FlightGlobal. DVV Media Group. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  19. ^ Pallini, Thomas (April 23, 2021). "American and Alaska are making moves to compete with America's newest airline before its first flight has even taken off". Business Insider. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Avelo Expands To East Coast; Announces Tweed New Haven Airport Base" (Press release). PRNewsWire. May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b c Wolfsteller, Pilar (July 7, 2021). "Two months after launch, Avelo cuts destination cities, raises prices". FlightGlobal. DVV Media Group. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Lilly, Caitlin (July 15, 2021). "Low-cost airline to launch nonstop service between Las Vegas, California's wine country". KVVU-TV. Meredith Corporation.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b c Karp, Aaron (July 30, 2021). "Avelo, Breeze add more new routes". Routesonline. Informa Markets. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  24. ^ Shek, Winston (August 27, 2021). "Avelo Airlines Cuts Flights to Two Destinations From Burbank". Airline Geeks.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Gilbertson, Dawn (August 19, 2021). "New budget airline Avelo Airlines expanding to East Coast with Florida flights". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  26. ^ "Destinations". Avelo Airlines. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  27. ^ Yeager, Melissa (August 19, 2021). "New low-fare airline ends metro Phoenix flights after 3 months. Here's what happened". The Arizona Republic. Gannett. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  28. ^ Shaw, Mitch (April 8, 2021). "New commercial air service announced at Ogden airport; flights to California start next month". Standard-Examiner.
  29. ^ Proctor, Cody (April 8, 2021). "New airline Avelo announces nonstop flights from Burbank to Pasco". KEPR.
  30. ^ "Avelo Air Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. May 3, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  31. ^ "Xtra Airways Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.

External links[]

Media related to Avelo Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

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