I appreciate the finer things in life, but I love a bargain.
So when I learned that relative newcomer Avelo Airlines was launching service in the Carolinas, I was pretty stoked at the chance to fly to even more destinations at a lower price.
Well, that was over a year ago. Thanks to the young carrier’s infrequent flight schedule and the fact that any of their North or South Carolina airports are at least an hour and a half’s drive from my home in Charlotte, I haven’t had the opportunity to fly with them until now.
This post is not sponsored but contains affiliate links
With the launch of their Raleigh to Rochester route, I finally took my chance and booked an $88 roundtrip ticket. Now, I’m no stranger to the bare-bones flying experience of ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs). I know how to pack a personal item, what I need to do to plan for meals ahead of time, and I’ve made my peace with occasionally being separated from my travel partner – but there are a few things I think future travelers should consider before booking a ticket (including a few things I wish I’d have known!).
So, let’s just dive in – here are thirteen things you need to know before you book a flight on Avelo Airlines:
They don’t fly every day
Well, technically they do – there are Avelo flights departing seven days a week – but for the vast majority of routes, you’ll only find flights on two or three days per week. And yes, even from their five current bases: BUR, HVN, RDU, MCO, and ILG. This leads me to…
They don’t fly everywhere
Avelo’s whole shtick is offering limited flights connecting smaller airports to larger hubs – and for the most part, their routes remain divided by coast. You can see their current route map here.
Everything is à la carte… and it can get expensive
Like their other budget airline peers, the price you see online is just the price to get you to your destination. Avelo’s base fare doesn’t include “add-ons” like baggage, a seat assignment, or priority boarding. But unlike Frontier or Spirit, there is no cost benefit to bundling your optional services – what you see is what you pay.
Save time while planning your trip by checking out my series of destination-specific travel guides
Game the system by packing ultra-light and skipping all the add-ons like priority boarding or seat assignments. Can’t travel with just a personal item? Consider sharing a checked bag or carry-on with your travel partners to save a little money. And don’t let them bully you into paying for a seat if you’re okay with being split from your party. The one caveat? Families with small children should always book seats together – we witnessed families who did not do so land in non-adjacent seats.
Fares are (relatively) flexible
Avelo’s cancelation policy is reminiscent of Southwest’s: if you cancel your flight 15 minutes or more before departure, you’ll receive the value of your flight in credit for use on a future flight. While it’s not as generous as a full refund, at least the value of your ticket is not lost. Note: you can cancel your flight for a full refund within 24 hours of purchase as long as your flight is more than seven days out, per U.S. law.
Teeny-tiny little bags
Avelo’s personal item size is tiny – perhaps the smallest I’ve ever seen – at 14″L x 9″W x 9.5″H (edit: Avelo has since increased their personal item dimensions to 17″L x 13″H x 9″W). For comparison, Spirit’s limit is 18″L x 14″W x 8″H. Digging into my grade school math formulas, Avelo’s size limit is nearly half the volume of Spirit’s max.
Worried about traveling light? Check out all of my personal item packing lists for inspiration
Michael and I each packed a bag that was just one inch over the awkward limit to avoid buying a new piece of luggage, figuring we could squish things down in a pinch. He packed a small Away backpack (no longer available), and I brought my trusty Longchamp. However, neither of us witnessed anyone being asked to measure their personal items at the gate on either flight – so do with that information what you will. Worried about getting busted? This duffle bag meets the requirements and won’t break the bank.
The check-in process is… murky
As a rule, I don’t pay for a seat assignment – and over the years I’ve noticed that for some airlines it’s better to check in for the flight either precisely 24 hours in advance (Southwest) or as close to boarding as possible (Spirit, Frontier). As for Avelo? I can’t quite tell when they assign seats. On our outbound flight, Michael and I were separated and placed near the rear of the plane, but on the inbound flight, we were placed together toward the front. In both instances, we checked in about nine hours before the flight.
The online check-in process felt a little clunky, with links not loading and the app not working smoothly. It took several tries (and browsers) to obtain our boarding passes, but finally, we made it through and requested a text with boarding passes. Normally I download an airline’s app before a flight, but this is one instance where it wasn’t a help.
The boarding process is straightforward
There aren’t nine sections of boarding class like on some other airlines – on our flights, there were just four. If you’ve added a carry-on, you’ll be in Groups one or two, otherwise you’ll be in three or four. Just speculation based on our seating assignments, but it seems like groups one or three are generally seated at the rear of the plane (unless they’ve added priority boarding). But there’s no need to jostle your way to the front of the line, as very few people seem to purchase a carry-on and there will be plenty of overhead space. Relax – we’re all going to the same place.
Avelo’s on-time performance (OTP) record
Both of our flights were delayed – the first departed two hours late, and the return flight departed 90 minutes after the scheduled time – so I reached out to Avelo to comment on their on-time performance record (interestingly enough, this information is generally not freely available to the public). According to the data they pulled from OAG, Avelo’s OTP for the first half of 2023 is 80%, just behind Delta and ahead of Alaska, American, and United. For the same period, Avelo’s Completion Rate is 99.2%, ahead of all the aforementioned carriers and other ULCC: Sun Country, Frontier, and Spirit.
While my experience drags down the data, for their part, the airline’s gate agents did their best to keep passengers’ spirits up with a round of trivia and a rendition of YMCA that perhaps didn’t go over very well (see above – A for effort, at least!).
The seats aren’t great
The planes are new and (relatively) clean, but not only are the seats cramped together, they’re manufactured with as little padding as possible. If you’ve ever flown Spirit or Frontier, you know exactly what I mean. Because of my back issues, I can’t fly any ULCC for more than 4 hours – but Avelo’s routes are all within that limit.
Where are the snacks?
Supposedly guests on some flights receive free water and cookies, however, neither of these materialized during either flight. The airline doesn’t even do regular beverage service. Pack your own water bottle (I like this one) and snacks, and treat anything else as a bonus, not an expectation.
Staff are friendly
Despite delays, the gate agents, flight attendants, and pilots all remained kind and courteous to grumbly passengers, which I imagine is not always the easiest thing to do.
So many kids
With rising airfare costs on most major carriers, I understand why parents aren’t willing to shell out $500 per person for the whole family to fly (I mean, I won’t even do that for myself!). As a result, there are far more children on budget carrier flights than legacy carriers – and far more screaming, crying, and seat-kicking (or if you happened to be as lucky as I was, getting pinched and smacked with an iPad a time or two by my tiny seatmate). The good news? You can take the savings you reaped and put them toward a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
Follow for a chance to win
Every Tuesday, Avelo draws two winners on Instagram for a pair of roundtrip tickets for the winner and their companion in what they call Two Ticket Twosday. Sure, the odds can’t be great with 175k+ followers, but crazier things have happened, I suppose…
—
Final thoughts on flying Avelo
I suppose the real question here is, would I fly Avelo again?
…maybe.
Although both of our flights were delayed, I would consider flying the young airline again if the price and times were right – but not out of RDU. Our late arrival wouldn’t have been an issue if we were flying into an airport closer to home, but having to make the drive after wasn’t so great. I can’t imagine Avelo will be landing at CLT anytime soon (gotta love a monopoly!), but perhaps we’ll consider a flight from GSP someday.
[Edit: Avelo announced that they will launch service from Concord, North Carolina, to New Haven, Connecticut, in May 2024!]
—
Questions for you
Have you flown Avelo? What else do you think people should know before they book?
If you haven’t flown Avelo, what budget airlines have you flown before?
Looking for more? Why not give one of these a read?
- How to Find Cheap Flights
- 10 Things You Need to Know Before You Fly on Contour Airlines
- 14 Things You Should Know Before You Fly Frontier Airlines for the First Time
- 15 Things Travelers Should Know Before Flying Spirit Airlines for the First Time
- The Complete Weekend Travel Guide to Rochester, New York
- 20 Questions You Should Ask a Potential Travel Partner Before You Leave Home
- How to Split Travel Costs When One Person Makes More Money
- 5 Easy Ways to Save Money This Week (for your next trip!)
- What Happens When You Cancel a Non-refundable Trip?
- Dinner Party Survival Kit: 20 Travel-Themed Conversation Starters
- 5 Easy Things You Can Do Today to Save for Your Next Trip
- I won a trip! (Now what?)
- Travel Guides by Destination
- Exclusive Discounts + Promo Codes
- All of My Personal Item Packing Lists
Why not Virginia airports not on Avelo destinations
I’m not sure – but hopefully they’ll consider adding routes soon!
This review was spot on to my experience. Initially I chose Delta, but a family member told me about this airline. I thought why not save, I had 1 bag and a carry on. I flew Avelo from ILM to FLL Fri September 15th. Yes, the attendants were polite, the flight was on time and landed safely as scheduled. No crying babies and I had a whole row to myself. However, I took video footage of the over 20 or more people who were prohibited from boarding due to their carry on bags. Many felt blindsided as did I and the gate attendants shrugged and asked for an additional$55.00. I told them flat out I didn’t have any extra money. I just literally posted a you tube video from airport stating I was housing insecure and rebuilding my life. I took out my laptop, carrying it in my arm and was not charged extra. The plane was not full, over all it felt like corporate greed.
In your case you say neither of you witnessed anyone being asked to measure their bag. My experience was the exact opposite. They made an announcement that if you had any doubts about the size of your bag please come forward and see if it fits in their measuring device. I was picked out both ways and charged $65 each way for a bag that easily fit under the seat while others with larger bags went unbothered. I honestly believe i they have a quota on each flight. I will never fly them again.
This Airline is like a stage coach with wooden seats and their tickets are misleading when your ticket tells you what gate to go too that’s false next you’ll find yourself walking 1/2 to the next gate. Full of shit
Changes schedule to many times. Any change you make cancels your entire reservation so that the seats are more expensive. you have to start over again. no refunds after 24 hours. read all of their policies and rules before you book.
When does Aveo fly from wilmington, De to Savannah/Hilton head, I . E., what days of the week?
Hi Josh! It looks like that is a seasonal route running through September 6, 2023, with flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
This is very helpful, thank you! Considering a flight from Manchester, NH down to RDU this fall but lukewarm about all the sacrifices one has to make to save a few bucks…
Happy to help! It’s definitely a tough call, especially when there’s competition on the route. I’d recommend adding up all of your baggage costs, etc. before booking to see if it feels worth it to you. Safe travels!
I have flown Avelo several times out of ILG to Tampa. As mentioned, seats are crappy. Out of four flights, one gave us a 4oz bottle of water. Tampa doesn’t pay attention to personal bag size but the Delaware location are baggage hawks 😂 I paid $65 because my bag was size of typical personal size of other similar airlines but too big for Wilmington. App is worthless. Somehow they cancelled return flight of my child after 1st flight. Found out when went to check in 24 hrs ahead for return flight. By the time it was resolved, hers was checked in later so different area of plane. It didn’t become a major deal because plane was not booked. But two calls and two different approaches to the problem , we were set. The flights are mostly inexpensive . The ILG daily parking is $9.50/day. Lower than PHL or BWI (nearby airports). At ILG you walk outside to the plane the walk up a ramp to get into or depart from plane. ILG is a very small airport. Only Avelo uses it.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences flying with Avelo out of Wilmington (I’ve been eyeing a flight from GSP!). It’s great to hear your insights, even though it seems like you’ve had a mixed bag of experiences.
It’s helpful to know that personal bag size enforcement is in effect in some locations (meaning it’s best to ensure your bag fits in both directions!). But I can’t imagine how stressful dealing with your child’s canceled flight must have been – I’m glad it was resolved, but I’m sure you would have much rather been enjoying your trip than spending your time on the phone!
Your detailed feedback will undoubtedly be helpful to others considering Avelo – thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts! ✈️
We have flown Avelo from RDU to Palm Beach, FL. Delay is the name of their game it seems to me. We were delayed outbound 90 minutes and coming home we were in Palm Beach from 9pm to 1am waiting without information or communications from anyone. The TSA closed at like 11 or 12 and some folks that were local and knew the flight was delayed had A LOT of trouble trying to get to the gates. It was a hot mess. A friend was trying to get from Palm Beach to RDU and her flight kept getting delayed (3hrs) and she just cancelled and went home. Can’t say I’m excited about Avelo and their cheap rates.
Yikes! Despite their rankings, it seems delays are a pretty common firsthand experience. Hopefully there are other carriers that serve the routes you need in the future!
My family has flown Avelo a lot since they started the Burbank to Arcata, CA route. This has been life changing! I no longer have to drive for two days. It’s a 1hr flight. Never had a delay, or cancelation ever. It’s great. I adore Avelo. I’m surprised others have been delayed. Maybe it’s a weather thing back East? We also have not seen them be picky about personal item sizes, but I follow the rules on size and compress that stuff!
Hi Tim, thanks for sharing that info. I will be trying out Avelo from Medford OR to Burbank this April.
I reached out to Avelo about the Fort Myers to Binghamton route as there are 100’s of people who leave in Lee County from that area, and many friends who have been waiting for a route directly there.
I received a response that was not really funny or true – We never opened the route because of Fort Myers Airport not being able to handle flights due to the Hurricane. Really ??? I called them out on the lie in another email and the lady responded they have no planes for the route and to fly Orlando route. Sorry Orlando is 4 hours away and not worth it – I can fly into many , many other cities within 2 hours drive. Sorry Avelo will not be flying your airline – to small and not honest.
We take Avelo to visit family often—a direct flight for under $200 is a great find! However, I cannot find the feature to by-pass paying for a seat. The plane is practically empty each time I’ve flown, so paying for a seat seems ridiculous especially when it’s been mostly just me!
Oh no, that has to be so frustrating! When I booked my tickets, I was able to bypass paying for a seat by clicking “Continue without seats” (a tiny text link underneath the big purple button). If that doesn’t show up for you, it might be worth reaching out to them next time you fly!
Any idea if shipping golf clubs would result in the “oversize” charge or if it falls into the regular charge for checking a bag?
Great question! It looks like sporting equipment can be checked, but it is still subject to the oversize/overweight charges if it is bigger/heavier than their checked baggage limits. You should note that golf clubs do have some extra packing instructions: “Golf bag (including clubs, balls and shoes) in a hard-sided golf bag carrying case provided by Customer capable of withstanding normal Baggage handling without sustaining damage to the contents. Hooded golf bags or golf bags in a soft-sided carrying case provided by the Customer will be accepted subject to a limited release of liability, as outlined in Section 10.C.”
If it’s helpful, the Contract of Carriage is here (it can be nice to have handy if there are any questions at the check-in counter).
We work a west coast location, and golf clubs are not considered oversized. Subject to change. Some locations have skis fly regular price, some do not, so you may want to inquire about your location and golf clubs.
Good article, fair and accurate. Seats are literally the same as Southwest, so yes a step up from Frontier and Spirit. We work a west coast location, and in our experience the seats are auto-assigned by the computer at check in. I’m more of a Delta personality, so I just select premium seats, checked bag, carry on, whatever and still pay less using the local airport with Avelo than my previous normal of Alaska or Delta. Also- bags fees are much less at booking time than at the airport, so pay online before you go.
Recently flew Avelo from Wilmington, Delaware to Wilmington, NC. When booking my tickets I paid for one checked bag each way. I checked my suitcase at the airport in Wilmington, DE and nothing was said. When returning home, I checked my bag at Wilmington, NC and was told they needed my credit card and I would be charged $65. With little time to argue before my flight departure, I provided a card. When I returned home, I contacted the customer service (via email) to dispute the charge. I also checked my Visa on line and found I was charged an additional $60 in Wilmington, Delaware as well without being told. Essentially double billed for baggage each way. They finally conceded to refund one of the double billings ($60). BEWARE OF WHAT THEY ADD TO YOUR CREDIT CARD!
If I book at airport do I save any of the fees that end up doubling my cost?
The only one of the taxes and carrier fees you should be able to avoid paying by purchasing at the airport is the Carrier Electronic Usage Charge (the September 11th Security Fee, U.S. Transportation Tax, U.S. Flight Segment Tax, and U.S. Passenger Facility Charge will all be charged on top of the base fare regardless). If you’re buying tickets for a large group and live close to an airport it might be worth popping in to buy your tickets at the counter; just bear in mind Avelo has limited ticket counter hours (they are open for approximately two hours prior to each scheduled departure and they close 40 minutes before takeoff).
As for the baggage, seat selection, and other optional charges, the pricing will be the same no matter where you purchase your fare.
Is there a carryon charge for medical equipment such as a c-pap machine?
Per FAA regulations, medical equipment should not count toward the carry-on allowance and you should not be charged to bring it on board (so long as it’s packed separately, and the case only contains the device). Avelo does have some restrictions regarding the use of CPAP machines, including requiring notice if you will be using the device in-flight. With such precious cargo, I’d recommend giving them a call to confirm your device is approved to fly and taking note of who you speak with.
And for the day of your flight, I always like to be extra-prepared when flying in case I encounter a gate agent who may not be aware of the policies. Here are a couple of helpful links to have handy/printed out:
https://www.aveloair.com/help/carry-on-bags
https://www.aveloair.com/help/restricted-and-prohibited-items
https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/passengers-disabilities
Safe travels!
How are the gate attendants at RSW as far as checking personal item bag size? and what about at RDU?
I can’t comment on RSW as I haven’t flown there yet (perhaps someone else here can?), but they’ve never checked my personal item size at RDU.
First time decided to give them a try 2 weeks ago I booked a flight so all was good ,tonight I get 10 email my flight was canceled due to overbooking .Well wasn’t I supposed to be on that flight .Customer service representative was working from home a kid who wanted her attention people talking to her the worse service I got We will never fly that airline 👎🏻👎🏻
I just flew from Hvn to Mco. Flight was on time , and I had no problems bringing on my carry on bag. I found the seat a little stiff, but they do recline which was a plus . The price was great plus I booked a seat in the front . Still less that some other airlines. My husband and I will fly Avelo from now on .
I haven’t flown Avelo yet-so far it would only be a marginal time saver, but it appears that they may be flying to Lakeland FL, which would be a much bigger time (and likely cost) saver. Regarding other “cheap” airlines, I did recently (finally) use up my credits on Frontier. I tested positive for COVID 23 hours before my Frontier flight. I had purchased the very expensive “the works” package from Frontier because I thought it was fully refundable. Not so–you must request a refund 24 hours before flight time. Frontier refused to make an exception–they would only give credit, not a refund. You get a free choice of seat with “the works”, but the seats are all the same quality. I was in row 2, but was told to put my overhead further back because the people in row 1 use the overheads for row 2. I tried row 3 on another flight–they were still telling us to put our overheads behind us. Overall, I feel like Frontier gave me “the works”. BTW I wrote the FAA about the non-refund and they were no help at all. I guess they prefer that you just go ahead and fly with COVID. This may sound whiney, but, I only paid so much in the first place because it was last minute before Christmas so having so much credit was unnecessary later–I had to wait nearly a year to use it up and give money to an airline that I didn’t even want to fly on in the first place. Go ahead and repost this to your Frontier page if it helps.
I flew a Velo Airlines for the first time just before christmas. It was a messy procedure trying to get on the plane and very crowded but the flight was good and I arrived on time at BWI baltimore. When I got off the plane I was in a rush and I’m 76 years of age and I have post-traumatic stress disorder from Vietnam War and I took the wrong bag that looks just like mine without checking. I didn’t realize until 2 or 3 hours after I got to my daughter’s house that I had the wrong bag and I tried to contact the airlines to no avail! My grandchildren drove me back up to the airport and I went over to the envelope ticket counter and there was no one there so I went down to the baggage area where my bag had been and there was no baggage claim area or anyone attend me if there had been! I finally found out a couple days later by being able to get in touch with someone at a fellow that I had to fill out a form on their site and then they would take a look at it and they told me at that time that I had to have done this 4 hours after I found out my bag was gone missing or whatever and this was 4 days later over the Christmas holiday. I put in a claim anyway they didn’t get back to me for about 2 weeks finally they said they were going to reimburse me for the bag up to $1,500 without having to contest receipts and whatever else so I said okay. The very next day they got back to me and said we’re not going to give you any money as you didn’t contact a Velo within 4 hours of losing your luggage. I had to spend another day on the phone trying to get through to them and finally was able to contact the woman who would help me fill out the form in the first place and she called The Other Woman Melissa who wouldn’t give her phone number out and told her what had happened Melissa was the girl who sent me an email first about not being able to get the bag back and then yes we’ll pay you and then no we won’t and on and on and on. It’s still up in the air and I can get back to you to let you know what they do but I wasn’t too happy about that. They should have a small baggage claim area with someone on duty there 24/7 and I know it comes down to money but if they combine that with other Regional Airlines like the ones listed above if they just put one person on and they all chip in to pay those three people I mean three people on and shipping to pay all three of those people to be there every evening it would drastically speed up the process and bags would not be lost forever. I’d be willing to pay $10 per ticket extra to have that service because it has been an absolute Nightmare and I’m out at least $1,200 unless they reimburse me! The story continues..
Alyssa
Avelo will be flying out of Concord N. C.
Starting in May 2024 , just to HVN to start
You beat me to it! They just announced it today, and chances are good I’ll be on one of those flights for a long weekend getaway 🙂
Yes! Me too. Hoping they’ll start expanding with more destinations promptly. I live just 2 miles from the airport, 1 mile from concord mills. 😃
There is very little legroom. I’m 5’7” and my knees were touching the seat in front of me. It’s like riding in a stage coach with uncomfortable seats. I’m going to stick with Southwest.
Why not include Lexington, Kentucky? They have an airport there that can easily accommodate your aircraft. As of now……you have no destinations that are useable to me. I will continue with Allegiant.
Avelo’s hallmark is flying nonstop to destinations that larger airlines mostly eschew. For us it’s their seasonal service from Redmond/Bend to Palm Springs, CA, which has been a total game-changer. My spouse is in a wheelchair, and having to change planes enroute is a nightmare. I find three hours on an Avelo 737 to be more comfortable than six hours on the two commuter jets (either Alaska/Horizon or United Express) we would have to take otherwise. And the staff have been just fine. If only Avelo would extend this service to make it year-round! I would think that if you live in greater New York/Westchester/Fairfield, greater Delaware Valley, greater LA, or greater northern Bay Area, flying from New Haven, Wilmington, Burbank or Santa Rosa to one of their destinations would *always* be preferable to LGA, PHL, LAX or SFO.