New airline Avelo

[ItsOnlyMoney]

Anyone flown on Avelo (west coast only right now)?
They are starting new routes from New Haven CT to Orlando in Nov. Bare bones apparently but much less expensive than Southwest or JetBlue.
My question has to do with reliability. We've heard so much about SW changing/canceling flights. Any experience?

 

[FCDub]

They have five total planes. No way I'd choose this airline.

 

[EACarlson]

My question is always, what is the back up plan? If your flight gets cancelled or significantly delayed how much is that going to affect your plans? If you miss a full day is that going to ruin the rest of your vacation? If you get stuck for a day on the way back, can you afford the additional costs incurred and the time you might miss from work?

It's an airline that has already ceased operations to a couple of locations and they've only been flying for 5 months. Everyone has their own risk tolerance for flights, this is outside of mine. I wouldn't book them.

 

[ItsOnlyMoney]

My question is always, what is the back up plan? If your flight gets cancelled or significantly delayed how much is that going to affect your plans? If you miss a full day is that going to ruin the rest of your vacation? If you get stuck for a day on the way back, can you afford the additional costs incurred and the time you might miss from work?

It's an airline that has already ceased operations to a couple of locations and they've only been flying for 5 months. Everyone has their own risk tolerance for flights, this is outside of mine. I wouldn't book them.

True, but it seems that SW has been rescheduling A LOT of their flights. I'll think about it for a few more weeks. DH would rather drive to New Haven than Hartford. I don't really care, except that the only direct SW flight is at 6:45 am.

 

[_19disnA]

I don't view SW rescheduling flights as comparable to what you are asking. SW is a well-known airline with a proven track record. Many airlines have been rescheduling flights due to covid related travel issues as they try to adjust capacity with demand. Rescheduling a flight several days before travel is more of an inconvenience since you haven't yet left home.

A brand new airline that only has a fleet of 5 airplanes (mentioned above) would be a huge red flag to me. What if there is a maintenance issue or even bad weather that causes an aircraft to not make the scheduled flight? Likely you will wait DAYS for a replacement flight. I wouldn't fly with them and be the guinea pig trying to see how organized they are.

 

[Darcy03231]

Here's my story on a budget/no frills airline with limited flights.

Trip down was fine. On the way back our flight was cancelled. Next flight on the budget airline was FOUR days later. We ended up having to book last minute airfare on another airline to get home the next day. No way will I ever book on an airline that has limited planes/flights again.

 

[ItsOnlyMoney]

Well that's something I hadn't thought about. Thanks

 

[DISNEY1975]

Well that's something I hadn't thought about. Thanks

Would you have to be back home for something? If not, look into their practices. If they are to compensate your being i Orlando extra days and you have no plans at home, Id say go for it! A month ago I was headed home, where a hurricane was expected. I didnt have to be back to work for several days. I was hoping the airline would cancel, even without compensation!! A great excuse not to come home! Sadly, flight was on time and it was a beautiful sunny day when I arrived home! I had an airline cancel on me (AA) an hour before the flight, right Wouldnt have been too bad, but it was New Years Eve and I was coming home from a business trip on the other side of the country Saddest NYE I ever spent.

 

[EACarlson]

Would you have to be back home for something? If not, look into their practices. If they are to compensate your being i Orlando extra days and you have no plans at home, Id say go for it!

With a LCC or ULCC there is zero chance they are going to compensate you if they cancel your flight and you are stuck. The legacy carriers will if it is due to something under their control. The carrier's only obligation if they cancel your flight is to give you a refund. And most of the LCCs and ULCCs will fight you on that.

 

[Best Aunt]

With a LCC or ULCC there is zero chance they are going to compensate you if they cancel your flight and you are stuck. The legacy carriers will if it is due to something under their control. The carrier's only obligation if they cancel your flight is to give you a refund. And most of the LCCs and ULCCs will fight you on that.

What does LCC and ULCC mean?

 

[rangerxenos]

Are you sure they are that much cheaper that Southwest once you add in additional fees that I'm sure they're charging?

I always fly Southwest out of BDL because 1) Two checked bags each way free, and no charge for carry-ons, 2) No charge to change your flights, and if the price goes down they will give you a credit for the difference that's good for a year from when you booked, and 3) They are one of 3 airlines that go non-stop, a must for me.

I have checked out Jet Blue and Frontier, and once you add in all the additional fees they are often more expensive than Southwest. The other problem with Frontier is that they only fly to MCO on certain days.

 

[FCDub]

What does LCC and ULCC mean?

Low Cost Carrier
Ultra Low Cost Carrier

 

[EACarlson]

With a LCC or ULCC there is zero chance they are going to compensate you if they cancel your flight and you are stuck. The legacy carriers will if it is due to something under their control. The carrier's only obligation if they cancel your flight is to give you a refund. And most of the LCCs and ULCCs will fight you on that.

As @FCDub pointed out above, Low Cost Carrier and Ultra Low Cost Carrier. For the most part domestic airlines break down into three categories.
Legacies: Delta, American, United.
Low Cost Carriers: Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, Hawaiian. Usually pretty good but not quite the route network or history that the big three have.
Ultra Low Cost Carriers: Pretty much everyone else, examples being Frontier, Spirit, Allegiant. Fine as long as things go well but don't have high expectations and be prepared to dump everything in case of irregular operations.

 

[ItsOnlyMoney]

Are you sure they are that much cheaper that Southwest once you add in additional fees that I'm sure they're charging?

I always fly Southwest out of BDL because 1) Two checked bags each way free, and no charge for carry-ons, 2) No charge to change your flights, and if the price goes down they will give you a credit for the difference that's good for a year from when you booked, and 3) They are one of 3 airlines that go non-stop, a must for me.

I have checked out Jet Blue and Frontier, and once you add in all the additional fees they are often more expensive than Southwest. The other problem with Frontier is that they only fly to MCO on certain days.

Their flight is about 1/2 the price of SW though they do charge for carry on and checked bags. Even with higher cost of parking they'd probably still be cheaper. I don't fly often enough that I want a credit if the price goes down - I'd want a refund. Last time I flew was 2012.
I'm more concerned about getting there on time without changing planes, though saving $ that I could spend on something else would be nice. (also They don't fly in or out Tues & Wed, we'd have to stay another day. This would not save me anything but I'd get another day.

 

[ItsOnlyMoney]

Would you have to be back home for something? If not, look into their practices. If they are to compensate your being i Orlando extra days and you have no plans at home, Id say go for it! A month ago I was headed home, where a hurricane was expected. I didnt have to be back to work for several days. I was hoping the airline would cancel, even without compensation!! A great excuse not to come home! Sadly, flight was on time and it was a beautiful sunny day when I arrived home! I had an airline cancel on me (AA) an hour before the flight, right Wouldnt have been too bad, but it was New Years Eve and I was coming home from a business trip on the other side of the country Saddest NYE I ever spent.

I don't know if the aggravation of trying to book a hotel and arrange transport to/from the resort would be worth it. I think I'll prob book with SW,

 

[EllenJ]

I live close to New Haven and used to fly through there years ago when the furthest you could get was Newark or Philly. I stopped flying when twice we either missed our connection. I was flying exclusively out of Hartford on Southwest using points or cash. The policies are the best. BUT, recently, there is usually only 1 direct flight a day when there used to be several. And the cost for the direct flights are outrageous. I started flying JetBlue while they were doing the free change and found great options out of bdl or white plains. And with their credit card, free checked bag. I wish they would keep the free change fee, though.
that being said, I may give avelo a chance if the price and timing is right. I have a friend booked with them in November. I’ll let them be the guinea pig. Lol

 

[ItsOnlyMoney]

I live close to New Haven and used to fly through there years ago when the furthest you could get was Newark or Philly. I stopped flying when twice we either missed our connection. I was flying exclusively out of Hartford on Southwest using points or cash. The policies are the best. BUT, recently, there is usually only 1 direct flight a day when there used to be several. And the cost for the direct flights are outrageous. I started flying JetBlue while they were doing the free change and found great options out of bdl or white plains. And with their credit card, free checked bag. I wish they would keep the free change fee, though.
that being said, I may give avelo a chance if the price and timing is right. I have a friend booked with them in November. I’ll let them be the guinea pig. Lol

I think I too would try them but not this Jan. I'd like others (like your friend) to be the guinea pigs. I'm also a little concerned about the short runways. I understand that if the runway is wet they need to keep the weight down on the planes. It's bound to be wet in Jan.
I'm thinking Jet Blue now. A bit less expensive than SW and better times

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

Bumping this to see if there are any updates on Avelo? We are trying them in August (if our flight is cancelled we could drive the 8 hours, or consider Delta or AA tickets, even though that would throw our original savings by flying Avelo out the window—just saying I get the risks. We could wait the extra few days to get back if cancelled on the return leg.) We are regular fliers of Frontier, Allegiant, and Spirit.

Any newer experiences with Avelo to report?

 

[_19disnA]

Avelo's route map shows they basically operate out of a west coast & east coast hub. However, there are no overlapping flights, meaning the very small number of aircraft they fly (previously reported as 5) have to be split between those hubs. Having only 2-3 aircraft servicing all of those cities seems like something to avoid. I would expect a LOT of flight delays/cancellations given how they have setup their route map.

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

Avelo's route map shows they basically operate out of a west coast & east coast hub. However, there are no overlapping flights, meaning the very small number of aircraft they fly (previously reported as 5) have to be split between those hubs. Having only 2-3 aircraft servicing all of those cities seems like something to avoid. I would expect a LOT of flight delays/cancellations given how they have setup their route map.


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Yup, seems that way to me—except reviews and stats seem to contradict that assumption. For last June, for example, 95 percent arrived within 1 hour of schedule. So I’m wondering about actual experiences. They haven’t been operating long enough to realllyyy have any predictability but it’d be be nice hear from other Avelo fliers.