Avelo Airlines is ending flights out of Salem in August, leaving the community again without a commercial operator after a years-long effort to return service.

The announcement Monday morning caught city officials and business leaders by surprise. Avelo officials said the flight cancellations as of Aug. 10 followed a company decision to close a hub in Burbank and end all West Coast service later this year. 

The move did not reflect on Salem specifically, company officials said. 

Activists nonetheless claimed credit for the shutdown, which followed sustained protests in Salem and other cities about the airline’s service in other states to federal immigration agencies.

Avelo’s base in the Los Angeles area has two aircraft that fly to Salem and other West Coast destinations, spokeswoman Courtney Goff said. The first airplane will stop flying Aug. 12, ending flights to some destinations, including Salem.

Avelo will stop flying the second aircraft and close the base effective Dec. 2. The company is offering refunds to all passengers for now-canceled flights.

Burbank was one of two destinations the budget airline flew from Salem, and the only one operating year-round.

Avelo will also end flights from Eugene in December.

Avelo spokeswoman Courtney Goff declined to say how full flights out of Salem were or how many passengers were affected by their reservations being canceled. 

But Brent DeHart, chair of the Fly Salem group that worked to bring air service to Salem, said Salem consistently had among the fullest planes on any of Avelo’s West Coast flights.

Yesterday, he was at the airport and said 145 of 147 seats on Avelo’s flight to Burbank were full.

“We’re at a loss,” DeHart said of the decision to leave. “Why would you cancel in the middle of the heavy travel season?”

He learned of the closure after calling the airline’s West Coast network director Monday morning after hearing rumors of the cancellation. Other city officials learned of the decision during a 10 a.m. airport management meeting.

“We believe the continuation service from (Burbank) in the current operating environment will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop. We intend to redeploy these (Burbank) aircraft to business areas where we see more efficient longer-term growth prospects, while also building depth and breadth to our East Coast operation,” Goff said. 

Avelo launched its Salem air service in the fall of 2023 with much fanfare, offering two weekly flights each to Las Vegas and Burbank.

That came after the city of Salem spent millions renovating the airport terminal and scaling up staffing at public expense to accommodate commercial flights.

Avelo added a third weekly flight to Sonoma County, California, in early 2024 before ending it just months later. Soon after, the airline scaled back its Las Vegas route to a seasonal service.

The first year of commercial air service brought $19 million in economic benefits to the region through hotel stays and other local spending, according to the city’s air service consultant.

But it also increased the city’s costs to operate the airport because of fire, police and security staffing. That meant the formerly self-sufficient airport lost money and had to be subsidized by the city’s general fund.

Avelo also received subsidies for its operations through a pool of money from a federal grant and private contributions. That money was available for the first two years of operations.

After its first year of operation, Avelo had used $446,000 out of the $1.2 million available for subsidies. City officials on Monday could not immediately provide an updated figure for how much the airline had requested to date.

They also did not have information available about the city’s plans for airport operations in light of Avelo’s departure or whether employees would be laid off or shifted to other roles.

Passengers look for alternatives

The announcement left some Salem passengers scrambling to book costlier alternatives for planned trips.

Mike Sewell received an email Monday morning informing him that the four flights he had booked round-trip from Eugene to Burbank had been canceled. 

The Salem attorney had booked two trips to visit his father, one at the end of August and another at the end of October. 

“It was really disappointing to learn that they had canceled the flight, and really, even more disappointing that the West Coast service of Salem was being effectively suspended because of their closure of the Burbank hub,” he said.

Sewell makes frequent trips to other big cities on the West Coast for work. He said it’s been convenient to book Avelo flights that only cost around $50 when booked far in advance. 

“Now I’m having to rebook on a shorter time frame, and I’m looking at tickets that are triple the cost,” he said. “Having commercial service right here in Salem really made a meaningful difference, especially that Burbank leg.” 

Tim Lewis was very excited to visit his daughter next month in Los Angeles. He’d flown out to Burbank before from Portland.

“I was going to have my neighbor drive me to the airport,” he said, referencing the convenience of flying out of Salem. “I thought, ‘This is awesome!’”

His daughter scheduled time off work for their visit, which had been planned for months. He’d already made hotel reservations for himself and his wife, which may now be rescheduled unless the pair decides to drive up to Portland or down to Eugene to catch a different flight.

“Now we have to figure out how to get there,” he said.

Despite the inconvenience, Lewis’ wife was “thrilled” because of concerns over Avelo’s decision to fly deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of its Arizona base.

The airline became the target of protests in Salem and elsewhere in recent months after announcing in April that they would begin aiding in deportations.

Activists in Salem pushed city councilors to cancel the airline’s contract. Many councilors said they personally opposed Avelo’s choices, but wouldn’t cancel a contract that could result in a lawsuit costing the city.

Activists with the Coalition to Stop Avelo, a nationwide campaign opposing the airline’s deportation flights, claimed credit for the decision.

“Our collective efforts have played a key role in Avelo’s decision to cease operations not only in Salem, but also in Burbank. What a major milestone!” the group said in an emailed statement Monday.

Avelo officials denied the pressure campaign was related.

“Protests had no effect on our decision and did not impact our business in Salem,” Goff said.

Hopes for a new airline

DeHart said the private money used for revenue guarantees could be reallocated for another airline if Salem is able to recruit one. That total was about $350,000.

Travel Salem officials said they were committed to doing everything possible to recruit a new airline.

“We know residents have felt frustrated, but we see this as an opportunity to work proactively with partners to bring in new air service. Our focus remains on expanding air travel options and bringing new visitors to our destination, which strengthens our regional economy,” the organization said in a statement.

DeHart began working to recruit an airline to the city in 2018. Commercial aviation cheerleaders always hoped to add a second carrier alongside Avelo. 

Now, he’s hopeful Fly Salem can bring in a new carrier to begin service next spring or summer.

“Salem’s kind of a victim of circumstance here because we didn’t make the mistakes that Avelo made that put them in a position to make this decision,” he said.

Other Salem business leaders who worked to recruit Avelo threw their support behind

“Losing this momentum will negatively impact regional economic development. We remain committed and hopeful to successfully landing another commercial airline in the near future at Salem-Willamette Valley Airport,” Salem Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Hoffert said in a statement.

People most often fly from Salem to four destinations: Phoenix, Las Vegas, and the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. His aim is to get an airline that can fly to at least two of the four.

“We’re hopeful that this increases their interest in Salem because it’s a wider opportunity now and we have a history of load factors that they can look to to see that people did support the service,” he said. Load factor refers to how many seats on a typical flight are full.

DeHart said the costs for the city are also easier to bear. Most of the expense of recruiting Avelo was one-time spending to bring the airport terminal up to snuff.

“We’ve proven that people will get on the plane in Salem,” he said.

RELATED COVERAGE:

Councilors won’t act on Avelo contract, saying it’s financially risky

One year in, Avelo has received $446k from grant to subsidize Salem operations

Avelo cancels Salem-Las Vegas flights, shifting to seasonal route

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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