Low-Cost Carrier Avelo Starts Flights With an Eye on Southwest
- Airline will fly first from Burbank to smaller Western burgs
- Avoiding crucial Southwest Air cities is key part of strategy
One of two new U.S. low-cost airlines, the first to debut in more than a decade, is about to begin flying just as larger rivals rush to entice customers to return to the skies this summer.
Avelo Airlines plans to begin flights on April 28 with 189-seat Boeing Co. 737-800 jets going from Burbank, California, to Santa Rosa, in the heart of the state’s wine country. Additional flights in the following weeks will connect Burbank to 10 other cities and heighten competition with the airport’s biggest carrier, Southwest Airlines Co., which has expanded its own network to smaller burgs during the pandemic.