With two routes from Reno already started, aha! has seven more to launch from Nevada’s ‘biggest little city’. These include Spokane, a new route that is bookable but hasn’t yet been promoted. We examine the carrier’s aircraft schedule and see gaps – expect more route announcements soon.
What’s happening?
New entrant aha! took to the sky on October 23rd on its first revenue-generating service. The route: Reno to Pasco Tri-Cities (PSC on the following map). It was joined two days later by a new service to Bakersfield (BFL), a drive of perhaps six and a half hours or more. The inauguration of aha! meant it became ExpressJet’s second shot at independent operations.
The 468-mile (753km) route to Pasco operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. In 2019, it had around 6,000 round-trip passengers, booking data indicates. As with all brand-new routes, aha! will need to grow demand meaningfully; it’ll do this through lower average fares, non-stop service, and hopefully strong promotions.
If Pasco is to operate all year, it’ll have 300 annual flights and 15,600 annual seats. It’d need to grow the market by around 200%+, very straightforward for low-cost carriers – but aha! is using 50-seat regional jets renowned for high seat-mile costs, even more so when the fuel price is so high. Offsetting it might be cheap as cheap ownership costs. The deciding factor will be how intensively its aircraft are utilized.
And we're off!✈️ Thank you to everyone who flew and celebrated our inaugural flights yesterday!🎉 Pasco and Tri-Cities travelers, welcome to Reno-Tahoe. Enjoy your visit, and thank you for flying aha!#FlyAha pic.twitter.com/jGbNZU98q7
— aha! (@ahaairlines) October 25, 2021
Eight initial routes from Reno
Pasco and Bakersfield are two of eight initial routes for the new brand, whose snappy name refers to ‘air, hotel, adventure’, signifying its intention to grow ancillary products and revenue. Also coming soon are:
- Eugene (EUG): starting November 1st, three-weekly
- Eureka (ACV): November 9th, three-weekly
- Fresno (FAT): November 10th, three-weekly
- Medford (MFR): October 31st, three-weekly
- Ontario (ONT): November 4th, three-weekly
- Redmond (RDM): November 5th, three-weekly
Reno to Spokane is bookable; where next?
A ninth route has appeared on the carrier’s website and is bookable, although strangely, it hasn’t been promoted at the time of writing. Beginning on December 15th will be Spokane (GEG), also running three-weekly. It had about 5,000 passengers in 2019.
At 572 miles (920km) and a block time of almost two hours, the Washington state airport will be aha! ‘s longest route to date, two-thirds higher than the average of 346 miles (557km).
Where else could be served from Reno? Assuming similar-sized unserved markets to the carrier’s coming services and a rough distance of 600 miles, Bellingham, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Jackson (Wyoming), Palm Springs, and Grand Junction fall into the same overall category. Whether any will launch is an entirely different question!
How will aha’s! aircraft be used?
aha! currently has three 50-seat Embraer 145s (N839HK, N844HK, and N846HK). Analyzing the schedules of the nine routes for the week beginning December 15th shows that aircraft will have relatively leisurely days; a key way for aha! to reduce operating costs, like Allegiant, especially with older, less expensive, but fuel-inefficient aircraft.
| Aircraft 1 | Daily schedule | Aircraft 2 | Daily schedule | Aircraft 3 | Daily schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Eugene (10:25-11:50; 12:35-14:00); Fresno (14:30-15:33, 16:15-17:18) | Monday | Redmond (09:50-11:11, 11:55-13:16); Bakersfield (15:00-16:15, 17:00-18:15) | Monday | Spokane (13:40-15:39; 16:35-18:34) |
| Tuesday | Eureka (09:30-10:40, 11:25-12:35); Ontario (13:35-15:03; 16:00-17:28) | Tuesday | Medford (10:00-11:10, 11:55-13:05); Pasco (14:05-15:40, 16:25-18:00) | Tuesday | |
| Wednesday | Eugene (10:25-11:50; 12:35-14:00); Fresno (14:30-15:33, 16:15-17:18) | Wednesday | Redmond (09:50-11:11, 11:55-13:16); Bakersfield (15:00-16:15, 17:00-18:15) | Wednesday | Spokane (13:40-15:39; 16:35-18:34) |
| Thursday | Eureka (09:30-10:40, 11:25-12:35); Ontario (13:35-15:03; 16:00-17:28) | Thursday | Medford (10:00-11:10, 11:55-13:05); Pasco (14:05-15:40, 16:25-18:00) | Thursday | |
| Friday | Eugene (10:25-11:50; 12:35-14:00); Fresno (14:30-15:33, 16:15-17:18) | Friday | Redmond (09:50-11:11, 11:55-13:16); Bakersfield (15:00-16:15, 17:00-18:15) | Friday | Spokane (13:40-15:39; 16:35-18:34) |
| Saturday | Saturday | Saturday | |||
| Sunday | Eureka (09:30-10:40, 11:25-12:35); Ontario (13:35-15:03; 16:00-17:28) | Sunday | Medford (10:00-11:10, 11:55-13:05); Pasco (14:05-15:40, 16:25-18:00) | Sunday |
Expect three new routes to be announced
Aircraft will start between 09:30 and 10:25 daily and finish between 17:18 and 18:34. One set of crew should be able to be used per aircraft per day. It seems that aha! is avoiding scheduling aircraft on Saturday, at least for now. Given the initial scheduling, it is unlikely that it will add early morning or later evening flights.
Aircraft one and two are likely to be fully deployed while the third isn’t. Assuming new services will also be three-weekly, expect three new route announcements shortly.
Where would you like to see aha! fly next? Let us know in the comments.
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