Avelo Airlines: What to Know Before Booking

Ultra low cost carrier Avelo Airlines is a welcome new travel option, with the promise of “refreshingly smooth travel,” but its booking process has room for improvement.

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Avelo Airlines is the first new mainline airline in the US in 15 years, according to its own press release. It is actually one of two airlines to debut in Spring 2021. Airline entrepreneur David Neeleman also launched Breeze Airways in May, just a month after Avelo Airlines announced its plans. Avelo Airlines promises customers “refreshingly smooth travel,” with base fares starting at just $19. The airline is following the ultra low cost carrier (ULCC) model, so baggage and seat selection cost extra.

I had already booked a trial flight on Breeze Airways, so I decided to try out both airlines. I recently booked a flight from Avelo’s base at Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) to Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), which serves the cities of Richland, Pasco and Kennewick in Washington state. In this post, I’ll tell you what to expect when booking with Avelo Airlines.

Avelo Is Not Quite a New Airline

Avelo Airlines is not entirely new. In 1987, Casino Express Airlines was established to shuttle gamblers to Elko, Nevada. I remember seeing newspaper ads for their flights from Seattle. You’d pay something like $49/round trip, but passengers were required to show that they had a minimum amount of cash with them. Once in Nevada, passengers were shuttled to the Red Lion Hotel & Casino. No one was required to gamble, but there wasn’t much else to do in a small town like Elko.

As the airline continued to branch out into other charter business, it gave itself a new name: Xtra Airways. In 2018, Allegiant Airlines co-founder Andrew Levy left his job at United Airlines and bought Xtra Airways. He planned to transform the charter airline into a scheduled ultra low cost airline. It’s not technically a new airline, because it uses the same air operator’s certificate as Xtra (and Casino Express before that). But for all intents and purposes, Avelo is a new airline.

A Base at Hollywood Burbank Airport, More to Come

The new airline is focusing its attention on smaller airports and recreational destinations for its initial routes. Avelo currently operates three Boeing 737-800 aircraft, flying to eleven non-stop destinations from its base at Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR). There’s a lot to love about BUR. It’s a lot smaller than LAX, for one, and that means shorter security lines and less walking to get to the gate. BUR is also centrally located, close to Downtown LA and Hollywood. For an airline that promises refreshingly smooth travel, Hollywood Burbank fits the bill on convenience among Greater Los Angeles airports. Plus, it is the only airport with direct access to Downtown LA on Metrolink trains.

From BUR, Avelo flies to these destinations:

• Santa Rosa, California (STS)
• Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona (AZA)
• Pasco/Tri-Cities, Washington (PSC)
• Eugene, Oregon (EUG)
• Arcata/Eureka, California (ACV)
• Bozeman, Montana (BCN)
• Grand Junction, Colorado (GJT)
• Medford/Rogue Valley, Oregon (MFR)
• Ogden, Utah (ODG)
• Redding, California (RDD)
• Redmond/Bend, Oregon (RDM)

A Second Base at Tweed New Haven Airport

This fall, Avelo plans to open an East Coast base at Connecticut’s Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN). The airline is acquiring three Boeing 737-700 aircraft to serve this base, but destinations have yet to be announced. Meanwhile, the underutilized airport recently announced a $100 million expansion, which will include a new terminal and longer runway. Without the longer runway, HVN would be unable to successfully expand. But with it, the airport’s location makes a lot of sense for an ultra low cost carrier like Avelo. The airport is located just 80 miles from Midtown Manhattan. It should attract its share of New Yorkers with a combination of low fares and less airport hassle.

By the end of the year, Avelo Airlines plans to be operating in and around America’s two largest population centers. The airline will fly from secondary airports, but with its emphasis on leisure and family travel, I doubt this will be an issue. There are millions of potential customers within easy striking distance of these two main airports in Burbank and New Haven.

Booking with Avelo Airlines

If you like smaller airports with less hassle, there is no doubt that Avelo Airlines lives up to its “refreshingly smooth” slogan. But frankly, I found the Avelo Airlines booking process to be more complicated than necessary. It’s easy enough to book a flight, but changes and cancellations are another story altogether.

Calling Customer Service to Use Travel Funds, Cancel Flights

Passengers must call customer service to cancel a flight or to use travel funds. You read that right. We are well into the 21st century, and yet, customers cannot cancel flights or spend travel funds online. They have to make a phone call. I cannot see any compelling reason for this, and it is decidedly not customer-focused. Why not just allow customers to complete these simple actions online?

Let me give you an example of just how inconvenient this is. I had planned to check my luggage through to my final destination, for one very good reason; price. Avelo charges just $10 for your first checked bag, but they charge $35 for your first carry-on bag — a $25 difference. I initially booked my flights and paid $10 for a checked bag in each direction. Later, I realized that I needed to save time on my return trip and opted to go with a carry-on. There is only one way to make such a change at aveloair.com. First, you cancel the checked bag, and then you purchase the carry-on bag. So it’s an extra step, but no big deal, right?

Not exactly.

When I canceled the checked bag, the $10 fee was refunded as a travel credit. Remember, passengers need to call the airline to use travel funds. So if I wanted to apply the $10 to my carry-on bag, I actually had to call someone. After 14 minutes on hold, I finally connected with a customer service rep. He was very nice, very understanding. And after another five minutes, he’d made the change. But it’s a change I could have done myself in under one minute, if only Avelo Airlines had allowed me to apply travel funds online. A certain number of customers won’t bother with the hassle, and maybe that’s the point.

On the bright side, it seems easy enough to upgrade a seat without first canceling.

And They Don’t Take American Express

If you’re booking flights on Avelo Airlines, bring your Visa card. Because when you fly refreshingly smooth Avelo Airlines, you’ll get great low fares. But you can’t buy them with… American Express.

I’m making up my own 90s Visa commercial, but it’s one that applies with Avelo Airlines. The ultra low cost carrier is the only domestic airline I’ve found that doesn’t take American Express. You can use a Visa or Mastercard, and that’s about it. A forum post at airliners.net appears to confirm this. I didn’t try myself, but the airline lists only Visa and Mastercard as payment options. No Discover. No AMEX.

Avelo Airline’s lack of credit card options creates another barrier to booking and flying with them. I strongly recommend you have multiple credit cards from different companies for this very reason. It’s not an enormous problem for most, but it can be an inconvenience.

No Fee Changes and Cancellations

There is plenty of good news, though. Avelo Airlines doesn’t charge a fee for making flight changes or cancellations. Nor does the airline limit the number of changes their customers can make. Passengers can cancel their flight up to 15 minutes before its scheduled departure. Just remember, you have to place a phone call to cancel, so allow for time to be on hold. If you’re in a pinch, you could probably just make a change to your flight online, and then call later. If your change results in a lower price, the difference will be given back as travel funds. Those funds must be used within 12 months.

Extra Fees

As we mentioned at the outset, Avelo Airlines operates an an ultra low cost carrier (ULCC). Avelo CEO Andrew Levy is the co-founder of ULCC Allegiant Air, and he is clearly likes the model. The base fare includes a seat on the plane and little else.

This is the list of extras, which are available for purchase:

• First Checked Bag: $10
• Second Checked Bag: $20
• Carry-On Bag: $35
• Priority Boarding: $10
• Pet in the Cabin: $95
• Seat Selection: Starting at $4 for a standard middle seat, $5 for a standard aisle/window seat.

The standard seat pitch on Avelo’s 737-800 aircraft is 29 inches. And get this, most seats actually recline. That’s a bit unusual for an ultra low cost airline. Of course, whether or not you believe this is a good thing — well, that’s a debate for another day. There are plenty of seats with 2-9 additional inches of legroom for an additional cost. Seats with extra legroom start at $18 each way. I checked my flights between Burbank and Pasco, and the most expensive seat was in the front row, available for $36.

Of course, passengers can save the money and choose not to select a seat. Those passengers will be given their seat assignment at check-in, at no additional cost.

No TSA PreCheck, No Loyalty Program

Avelo Airlines flies into secondary and smaller airports without a lot of traffic. Thus, shorter security lines. Still, I love using TSA PreCheck to speed through security. Even when there’s a line, I can usually get airside in five minutes or less. But at this time, Avelo Airlines doesn’t participate in the TSA PreCheck program. I hope this is temporary, something that the new airline just hasn’t gotten to yet.

Avelo also has no frequent flier program at this time. Customers can sign up for an account, but it exists mainly to manage reservations and not much else. I accidentally made my booking on Avelo Airlines without signing in, but it doesn’t actually matter. I’ll be curious to see if Avelo Airlines eventually adds a loyalty program. But I doubt management will make it a priority.

Onboard Service

Avelo’s onboard product is a work in progress. They currently offer customers a small snack, bottled water, and a hand sanitizing wipe. There is no other beverage service available at the moment, whether for alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.

Avelo plans to offer a fee-based food and beverage service onboard. It also plans to obtain a liquor license and offer a more complete beverage selection.

Final Thoughts

Avelo Airlines is a welcome addition to the U.S. airline scene, but its booking issues need to be improved. There is just no good reason to make customers call the airline to cancel a flight or to use travel funds. I’m sure the airline has done the math and believes it will see more revenue this way. But in my experience, keeping things “refreshingly simple” (as they say) will help build a loyal customer base.

I’m looking forward to my upcoming travels on Avelo Airlines. The trip is scheduled for late July, and I’ll keep you updated.

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Main Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Avelo Airlines | All photos made available to media by Avelo Airlines