Low-cost airline makes maiden flight through Boise, eyes success during busy summer
Avelo Airlines, a new low-cost air carrier, launched service Tuesday afternoon at the Boise Airport, with its first flights between the Treasure Valley and its hub at Southern California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport.
The airline’s two-hour nonstop flight landed in Boise just after 4:30 p.m., and made the return trip to the Los Angeles County airport a little before 6:30 p.m. — each at about one-third full, an Avelo spokesperson said. Avelo (pronounced A-vell-o) is starting with twice-weekly flights between the two destinations, on Mondays and Fridays, and plans to add Wednesdays and Saturdays between June and August.
“Boise is a market we’ve been interested in for quite some time,” Andrew Levy, Avelo’s founder, chairman and CEO, told the Idaho Statesman in a phone interview. “Obviously we recognize the tremendous growth in general, specifically from California, and the growing community of interest between the two communities, and that’s why we’re there, and we’re really excited about it.”
Four airlines already provide service from Boise to Los Angeles International Airport, which consistently ranks in the top-three busiest airports in the U.S., and among the top five in the world. But Avelo’s route to Burbank, which is located about 30 miles north of LAX, is brand-new for Boise, and is being offered at an introductory one-way fare of $69 with advance bookings at aveloair.com. As with many airlines, checked and carry-on luggage fees apply, as do priority boarding and seat assignment preferences.
“Burbank was one of our largest, unserved nonstop destinations, so we’re really excited to add this to our route map,” Rebecca Hupp, Boise Airport’s director, said before a Tuesday afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony at the flight’s arrival and departure gate. The airport also handed out complimentary bottles of water and soft drinks, and Avelo-themed cookies.
Husband and wife Erica and Alan Walker, of Mammoth Lakes, California, sat in the gate area on Tuesday with their carry-on luggage awaiting takeoff back home. They were in Boise for two weeks visiting family, and their daughter back in Southern California booked them on the flight.
“I think she said this is the best deal,” said Erica Walker, 64, not realizing it was the airline’s inaugural flight out of Boise. “Very cool. I feel special.”
Avelo’s addition brings the Boise Airport back up to seven commercial airlines after JetBlue Airways chose to exit the market last month. Spirit Airlines will become the local air travel hub’s eighth air carrier when it begins service with a nonstop Las Vegas route in August.
The expansions continue to build on the momentum and increased demand at the Boise Airport. Through the first quarter of 2022, the airport was on pace for its busiest year in history after record-high passenger counts in March and April, according to airport data. Each comes ahead of the year’s usual, nonpandemic air travel peaks during the summer months, between May and August.
“Our 2022 passenger counts have been consistently higher than our 2019 statistics, which was our busiest year to date,” Hupp said in an earlier news release. “Pair this general increase in demand with the uptick we traditionally see in travel from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and we are anticipating a record-breaking summer.”
The airport’s April total of nearly 336,000 passengers reflected about a 10% surge in travel compared to 2019, while March’s total of more than 358,500 passengers was better than a 7% increase over the airport’s current record-holder year. More than 4.1 million passengers passed through Boise in 2019 to generate the airport’s all-time high, before the COVID-19 pandemic decimated commercial air travel globally.
Boise Airport popularity growing
Avelo’s arrival is poised to contribute to the gains at the Boise Airport aboard the airline’s small fleet of 189-seat aircraft it operates in the West. If the Burbank route is successful, Levy said, Avelo would first look to increase its number of flights, and then explore adding other destinations in and out of Boise.
“We’re not a business carrier, and live and die on low fares, stimulating demand and making it easier to travel or travel more often,” said Levy, who previously co-founded and was president of Allegiant Air, which also serves Boise. “We don’t try to be everything to everybody, and as a result we capture customers. We’re selling price, but also convenience and ease of use, and Burbank is perfect for that.”
The new Boise route allows Avelo to leverage the airport’s financial incentive program, where the airline receives credits toward terminal and landing fees they typically pay to the airport, plus some marketing benefits. The program requires an airline provide at least twice-weekly service for a full year, and Avelo is eligible for up to $77,000 in credits during its first year, according to an airport spokesperson.
In response to Avelo’s launch in Boise, Alaska Airlines also is set to introduce its own Burbank flight on Friday aboard 76-seat planes, creating another option along the same route. The Seattle-based air carrier’s new flight will raise its nonstop destination total in Boise to 15, with two more, to Las Vegas and Idaho Falls, scheduled to join its lineup starting June 16. Bookings are available at alaskaair.com.
“We’re always looking to increase options for our guests while keeping an eye on the competitive landscape,” an Alaska Airlines spokesperson told the Statesman by email. The route also starts with an initial schedule of Mondays and Fridays.
Avelo, meanwhile, last month celebrated its one-year anniversary after serving more than 630,000 passengers across 5,300 flights in its first year of operations across its developing network of roughly 30 destinations. Separate from Bosie, the airline will add service in and out of Orlando in June, joining Burbank and its East Coast operations center in New Haven, Connecticut, as Avelo’s hubs.
“We offer a product customers like, that’s really easy, simple, and gets you from Point A to Point B, and we’re pretty good at it,” Levy said. “It’s just a matter of getting awareness out there, and enough people trying us, and when they do, they like what they see.”
