US ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) Avelo Airlines is exiting four markets that did not develop as planned and intends to seasonally suspend a further nine routes.
The Southern California start-up told FlightGlobal on 21 November that “demand did not generate as hoped” on four routes – Raleigh-Durham (North Carolina) to Sarasota (Florida), New Haven (Connecticut) to Melbourne (Florida) and Las Vegas to Arcata (California) and Dubuque (Iowa). Those routes will be operated through early January and will not return.
The carrier had launched flights to Arcata and Dubuque in September, following its pattern of targeting markets with low or no air service. Competitors in the USA’s low-cost segment have recently observed softening domestic demand for leisure travel, however.
The ULCC is also seasonally suspending nine routes in the first quarter of next year, including Burbank (California) to Colorado Springs (Colorado) and Brownsville (Texas); Las Vegas to Brownsville; New Haven to Greenville (North Carolina), Savannah (Georgia) and Charleston (South Carolina); and Wilmington (Delaware) to Nashville (Tennessee), Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) and Daytona Beach (Florida).
Avelo did not specify when the seasonal flights will resume in 2024.
”The rest of the routes are on a seasonal break due to scheduled heavy maintenance on our planes due to the delayed arrival of our new-to-us aircraft,” Avelo says. “As the Q1 time frame typically [has] lower demand in these markets, we chose to utilise this time to lessen frequencies and seasonally exit so our planes are in a good position for peak spring/summer travel.”
The carrier has 16 mid-life Boeing 737NG in service and does not have order commitments beyond those jets, according to Cirium fleets data.
