CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this report. airline industry, the better it is for the traveling public," Atmosphere Research Group's Harteveldt said. "The more competition we have in the U.S. Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines plan to combine, though they'll continue to operate the brands as distinct carriers.īoth Levy and Neeleman said there is room for multiple players in the low-cost carrier space. Those airlines have appealed that ruling. JetBlue and Spirit announced plans to combine in July 2022 in a deal that would have created the fifth-largest airline in the U.S., though a federal judge blocked that merger in January. Some airlines, particularly low-cost carriers, have in recent years looked to merges to chip away at the dominance of the big four carriers. Levy said Avelo's focus is "on getting to a point where the company is IPO ready," and that he has no interest in selling the company. Avelo also hopes to achieve sustained levels of profitability before an IPO. Neeleman said Breeze is aiming to be profitable before it decides whether to file for an initial public offering or another option.
It currently flies 22 A220s and will have 32 in operation by the end of 2024, according to Neeleman. The company will exclusively fly the A220 for its commercial service by the end of 2024. And it still is not quite back to what it was," Levy said.īreeze said last month that it will exercise options on 10 more Airbus A220 aircraft. "The whole aviation supply chain system has been mucked up since Covid. The company currently has 16 planes in its fleet and has five on order. Avelo had 11 routes shortly after launching in the summer of 2021 and now has about 75, while Breeze flew about 16 routes that summer and is currently selling roughly 180.Īvelo has faced delays in delivery of its used Boeing 737 aircraft that it leases, CEO Levy said. It hopes to launch international service by 2025.Īvelo and Breeze have both continued to announce new routes and destinations this year. It flies to standard vacation destinations, but also offers cross-country flights from cities such as Hartford, Connecticut or Charleston, South Carolina, to destinations including Las Vegas and Los Angeles. in 2023 when it launched service to Puerto Rico and will likely expand to international destinations this year, Levy said.īreeze, which Neeleman founded after also starting JetBlue Airways and Brazilian carrier Azul, mostly eschews major hubs and flies out of about 50 airports such as New York's Westchester County Airport and Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio. The carrier moved beyond the continental U.S. Many of its destinations are from the Northeast to popular vacation destinations in Florida and South Carolina, but it also serves destinations in California and other western states in the U.S. It brought in revenue of $265 million for the full year 2023, up 74% from the prior year.īoth airlines have staked a claim in the low-cost carrier segment, which also includes Frontier and Allegiant, which offer base fares, add-ons and secondary airport flights.Īvelo flies to about 50 destinations and operates out of six bases including Connecticut's Tweed-New Haven Airport and Delaware's Wilmington Airport. Yet, Avelo reported its first profitable quarter in the last three months of 2023, and a company spokesperson said the airline will likely turn an annual profit in 2024. The carriers are still tiny. For comparison, Southwest Airlines, the largest domestic carrier, flew more than 137 million passengers last year. Breeze flew more than 2.8 million travelers last year, and its flights were 77% full, according to the company. market, according to Cirium data.Īvelo says it flew 2.3 million customers in 2023, and that its planes were more than 80% full on average. "When you have Goliaths, and you're just David, it's really hard," said Avelo Airlines CEO Andrew Levy.ĭelta, American, United and Southwest together control about three-quarters of the U.S. They've launched dozens of new routes across the country, and their founders say their strategy of linking cities where there's less competition from large carriers is paying off. Think Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport, rather than Los Angeles International, or Islip, Long Island, over New York City. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit