Avelo Airlines, Inc. () is an American

ultra-low cost airline A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

headquartered in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It previously operated charter flights as ''Casino Express Airlines'' and ''Xtra Airways'' before transitioning to scheduled operations and rebranding as Avelo Airlines on April 8, 2021. The airline's first scheduled flight under the Avelo name was on April 28, 2021, from

Hollywood Burbank Airport Hollywood Burbank Airport is a public airport northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective November 9, 2017 The airport serves Burbank, Hollywood, and the norther ...

Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport is a domestic airport located northwest of downtown Santa Rosa, California, in Sonoma County, California, United States. The airport is named after Charles M. Schulz, the famed cartoonist of the ''P ...

History

Casino Express Airlines

Established on July 20, 1987, as ''Casino Express Airlines'', the air carrier began operations in 1989 using

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating ...

jetliners flying exclusively for the Red Lion Hotel and Casino in

Elko, Nevada Elko is a city in and the county seat of Elko County, Nevada, United States. As of the official 2020 U.S. Census, the city has a population of 20,564. Elko serves as the center of the Ruby Valley, a region with a population of over 55,000. Elko ...

. Casino Express operated 737 jet service from

Elko Regional Airport Elko Regional Airport – formerly Elko Municipal Airport – is a public airport located approximately west of downtown Elko, in Elko County, Nevada, United States. The airport was named J.C. Harris Field in 1975 in honor of Jess C. Harris ...

non-stop to many cities in the US. In 1994, Casino Express was operating scheduled weekend only flights non-stop between Elko (EKO) and Portland, Oregon, (PDX) and Seattle (SEA) with

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

jetliners. For a short time in 1999, Casino Express Airlines operated one

jetliner for the start-up airline

Tahoe Air Tahoe Air was a United States airline founded by Mark Sando, who used Casino Express Airlines to fund their plane purchase. Tahoe Air offered jet flights directly out of South Lake Tahoe via the South Lake Tahoe Airport. History Scheduled passe ...

, which provided scheduled passenger air service with non-stop flights from the South Lake Tahoe Airport to

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

in southern California and also non-stop service to

San Jose International Airport San José Mineta International Airport —officially Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport—is a city-owned public airport in San Jose, California. Located northwest of Downtown San Jose, the airport serves both the city and the Sa ...

in northern California.

Xtra Airways

Casino Express quickly expanded its customer base to include sports teams, government agencies, foreign dignitaries, press corps, other gaming properties, and other types of public and private charters. It changed its name to ''Xtra Airways'' on December 8, 2005, to reflect its broader focus. From 2007 through 2012, Xtra Airways dedicated two Boeing 737-400 aircraft to fly for

Direct Air Southern Sky Air Tours, d/b/a Direct Air was an airline business based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States. Direct Air started in 2007 and leased aircraft with charter airlines. Its main base was Myrtle Beach International Airport. Direc ...

, an airline business based in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

. Xtra Airways changed its

aircraft livery An aircraft livery is a set of comprehensive insignia comprising color, graphic, and typographical identifiers which operators (airlines, governments, air forces and occasionally private and corporate owners) apply to their aircraft. As aircraf ...

in 2015 to an

executive jet Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

style, displaying flag blue and red stripes. In September 2016, it began operating a Boeing 737-800 ( registration: N881XA), repainted in a sky-blue and white livery with "Stronger Together" titles, for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Soon afterward a second aircraft, Boeing 737-400 (N314XA), was also chartered by the campaign, painted with a sky-blue stripe and "

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

/ Kaine" titles.

Avelo Airlines

Andrew Levy, former President of

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air is an American ultra low-cost carrier, ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline focuses on serving leisure traffic from small and medium-sized cities which it considers to be underserved, using an ult ...

and Chief Financial Officer of

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

, acquired Xtra in August 2018, with the intent of transforming the charter airline into an ultra-low cost carrier. By that time, Xtra had sold most of its fleet to

Swift Air iAero Airways, previously named ''Swift Air'', was an American charter airline based in Greensboro, North Carolina with its main hub at Miami International Airport.Flight International 12–18 April 2005 The airline announced that it would ceas ...

, but kept one Boeing 737-400 to retain its FAA Part 121 Regularly Scheduled Air Carrier certification. By April 2019, the airline was considering operating

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...

s. In February 2020, Levy announced the new holding company for Xtra, named Houston Air Holdings, Inc., reflecting the company's Houston headquarters. The same month, the company raised US$125 million in funding and received its first airplane from

GE Capital Aviation Services GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services) was an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. AerCap acquired the company from GE Capital on November 1, 2021. GECAS was the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company i ...

ahead of its original plans to launch scheduled operations later in 2020. On April 8, 2021, the new airline was announced under the name Avelo Airlines, and began selling tickets for flights based at

in California. Its initial route network consisted of eleven unserved destinations from Burbank, launching between April 28 and May 20, 2021, with an initial fleet of three Boeing 737-800s, expanding to six by the end of 2021. Avelo's announcement of its entry into scheduled flight operations was met with competitive response initially from

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

, with American upgauging to a larger

Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final ass ...

on its existing route between

Phoenix Sky Harbor Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a civil-military public international airport east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport; among the largest commercial airports ...

and Burbank, while Alaska announced a new service between Burbank and Santa Rosa to start on June 1, 2021. Avelo's inaugural flight occurred on April 28, 2021, which traveled from its Burbank base to Santa Rosa's

Sonoma County Airport Sonoma may refer to: * ''Sonoma'' (beetle), a genus of beetles * Sonoma County, California, a county in northern California in the United States ** Sonoma, California, the city for which the county is named ** Sonoma Valley, the region in Sonoma ...

. The airline announced on July 7, 2021 that it would terminate its flights to Bozeman and Grand Junction by the end of September, while by July 29, 2021, the airline announced an additional five destinations including

Fort Collins A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

, Las Vegas, Monterey,

Provo Provo or Provos may refer to: Places United States * Provo, Kentucky, an unincorporated community South Dakota * Provo, South Dakota, an unincorporated community * Provo Township, Fall River County, South Dakota Utah * Provo, Utah, a city ** P ...

, and St. George, although the planned flights to Monterey, Provo, and St. George were later cancelled. Following the airline's California launch in late April, Avelo announced on May 6, 2021, that it would open a new base at

Tweed New Haven Airport Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles southeast of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven, in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective Sep 15, 2016. The a ...

in Connecticut during the third quarter of 2021. The airline additionally announced that it planned to invest US$1.2 million toward the New Haven airport's facilities, and that it would use

Boeing 737-700 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it has been pr ...

aircraft for its operations at the new base. On August 19, 2021, details of the airline's operations at its New Haven base were revealed, initially with four routes between New Haven and destinations in Florida announced to launch during November 2021. By the end of 2024, Avelo had expanded its service from New Haven to 26 destinations, making the airport its largest base. On January 6, 2022, Avelo announced that it had raised an additional US$42 million. This second-round offering increased Avelo's invested capital base to over US$160 million. On April 14, 2022, the

Association of Flight Attendants The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (commonly known as AFA) is a union representing flight attendants in the United States. As of January 2018, AFA represents 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines. Since 2004, AFA has been part of the C ...

was certified as the exclusive representative of all of Avelo's 14 flight attendants after a vote under the

Railway Labor Act The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, enacted in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration, and mediation for strik ...

was conducted by the

National Mediation Board The National Mediation Board (NMB) is an independent agency of the United States government that coordinates labor-management relations within the U.S. railroads and airlines industries. History The board was established by the 1934 amendments t ...

. Over the remainder of 2022, Avelo had established three more bases, consisting of

Orlando International Airport Orlando International Airport is the primary international airport located southeast of downtown Orlando, Florida. In 2024, it had 57,211,628 passengers, making it the busiest airport in the state and ninth busiest airport in the United St ...

in April 2022, Wilmington, Delaware's

New Castle Airport Wilmington Airport (formerly known as New Castle Airport, New Castle County Airport, sometimes referred to as Wilmington-New Castle Airport, or to a lesser extent Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport and Greater Wilmington Airport) is an ...

in October 2022, and

Raleigh–Durham International Airport Raleigh–Durham International Airport , locally known by its IATA code RDU, is an international airport that serves Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, Durham, North Carolina, Durham, and the surrounding Research Triangle region of North Carol ...

in November 2022. In September 2023, the airline established its sixth base at Las Vegas's

Harry Reid International Airport Harry Reid International Airport , formerly known as McCarran International Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located south of downtown Las Vega ...

, however the base was relocated to

in Santa Rosa in May 2024. The airline posted its first

profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

in fourth quarter of 2023. In February 2024, Avelo announced plans to add five additional aircraft to its fleet, all obtained from bankrupt Brazilian airline GOL. Additional aircraft were acquired from Aerolineas Argentinas and

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

in the same year. In July, the airline unveiled its biggest network expansion to date, with 18 new routes, new bases at Hartford's

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport – historically known as Bradley Field – is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, Con ...

and Lakeland Linder Airport, as well as the launch of international service to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and Mexico for the first time. Levy stated the airline had found a niche primarily serving passengers travelling to visit friends and relatives seeking non-stop flights. Further routes from Santa Rosa to

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

were announced in August.

Deportation contract

In April 2025, Avelo Airlines signed an agreement for a long-term charter program flying for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's

Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from transnational crime and ille ...

agency to "support the department's deportation efforts," the company told

12News KPNX (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Mesa, Arizona, United States, serving the Phoenix area as an affiliate of NBC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios at the Republic Media building on Van Buren Street i ...

. The company opened a new base out of

Mesa Gateway Airport Mesa Gateway Airport – also known as Phoenix–Mesa Airport – is an international airport in southeastern Mesa, Arizona, located approximately southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County. effectiv ...

in Arizona, with "removal" flights commencing on May 12, 2025. The airline simultaneously announced it was ceasing service to and from

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

, Idaho, effective April 27, with the three Boeing 737-800 aircraft used for serving Boise being repositioned to serve the domestic and international flights supporting the new removal contract.

Justin Elicker Justin Elicker (born July 31, 1975) is an American politician who serves as the 51st mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. A Democrat currently in his third term, he was previously a city alderman representing East Rock and a diplomat in the United S ...

, the mayor of

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Connecticut, where Avelo has its largest base, signed a petition criticizing the agreement and contacted Avelo president Andrew Levy to urge him to reconsider. The company is also facing calls for a

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

. Members of the

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is a governing body with jurisdiction over Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488, ...

in California also criticized Avelo, noting that the airline would shutter its operations base at the

and move employees for the contract, with Board Chair Lynda Hopkins stating, "They'll never get another dime from me," while also criticizing the airline's decision to participate in the "deportation industrial complex" rather than supporting the local tourist economy.

Corporate affairs

Avelo's headquarters are located at 12

Greenway Plaza Greenway Plaza is a business district located along Interstate 69 ( U.S. Highway 59) within the Interstate 610 loop in southwestern Houston, Texas, west of Downtown and east of Uptown. The district is located immediately west of Upper Kirby ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Destinations

Avelo operates domestic routes on the east and west coasts of the United States. Prior to rebranding as Avelo, the airline operated ad-hoc and on-demand charter services as both Casino Express Airlines and Xtra Airways within the Americas.

Fleet

Current fleet

, Avelo Airlines operates an all-

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

fleet composed of the following aircraft:

Former fleet

Casino Express Airlines and Xtra Airways, Avelo's predecessors, previously operated the following aircraft:

References

External links

* {{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Charter airlines of the United States Airlines based in Texas Low-cost carriers of the United States Companies based in Houston Airlines established in 1987 1987 establishments in Texas American companies established in 1987