Burbank Airport-based Avelo Airlines is launching four new routes from the airport this fall. Over September and October, Avelo will begin nonstop flights to Monterey, CA, Fort Collins-Loveland, CO, and Provo and St. George, UT. The new flights will see Avelo flying to 12 destinations from Burbank over the coming months.
New Avelo flights to Utah, Colorado, and Monterey
Beginning September 17, Avelo Airlines will fly between Burbank (BUR) and Provo (PVU) on Mondays and Fridays. On September 30, flights between Burbank and Monterey (MRY) will start, operating on Thursdays and Sundays. Flights to Fort Collins-Loveland (FNL) begin on October 6. Avelo will fly to FNL on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Finally, St George (SGU) will see flights on Thursdays and Sundays from October 7.
“These new routes will provide our LA Customers with unmatched affordability and direct access to four beautiful unserved destinations across the Western US,” said Avelo Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy.
Avelo is one of the highest-profile airline startups this year. Ditching LAX in favor of Burbank, Avelo’s off-piste choice of hub airport has grabbed plenty of attention. Since late April, Avelo’s small fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft have steadily built up the number of destinations served.
It hasn’t all gone without a hitch. Recently, Avelo said it would soon end flights to Grand Junction, CO, and Bozeman, MT. Attributing the decision to “customer insights” (or, in simple speak, a lack of demand), Avelo said running an airline successfully depended on flying to where customers want to go.
Avelo is betting their new destinations prove more popular than their flights to Grand Junction and Bozeman.
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A clever Avelo strategy
Avelo’s strategy of targeting regional airports and unserved city pairs is also a clever way of snatching market share from more popular routes that track close to Avelo’s route.
Fort Collins-Loveland Airport is only a 20-minute drive from Loveland’s ski resorts. Vail, Copper Mountain, Winter Park and Eldora Mountain are a little further afield, but Avelo says it is quicker to access those resorts from Los Angeles by flying BUR-FNL than the more traditional LAX-DEN option. Avelo also says moving through their smaller airports is a faster and less stressful experience than passing through big airports like Los Angeles International and Denver.
“Avelo has shown a commitment to partner with smaller, more convenient airports,” says Fort Collins-Loveland Airport Director Jason Licon.
Provo Airport is a 45-minute drive to downtown Salt Lake City and sold as an alternative to Salt Lake International Airport (SLC). Provo Airport is also only a 60-minute drive from the Utah ski fields.
As airlines fight for market share in the United States, Avelo is moving into the ultra-low-cost carrier space. It is the same space Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines occupies and a tier below the low-cost Southwest Airlines.
Aside from using low fares to drive demand, airlines like Avelo that focus on underserved city pairs have scope to grow in big markets like the United States. Aside from cost factors, flying a multi-city route to get from A to B takes time. An airline like Avelo that focuses on unserved city pairs that cuts out the need to connect can carve out a small but profitable market niche. And all those market niches add up.
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