Avelo Airlines CEO sees sure bet in new flights from Northern Colorado airport to Las Vegas

Avelo Airlines begins its new service from Northern Colorado Regional Airport to Las Vegas on Wednesday, the fledgling airline's second route from Loveland.

The airline began service from the airport to Hollywood Burbank in October and quickly announced its second route to Las Vegas beginning Dec. 15.

The nonstop service runs twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays, departing Northern Colorado at 12:05 p.m. and arriving in Las Vegas at 1 p.m. Returning flights depart Las Vegas at 1:40 p.m., arriving at 4:30 p.m.

As of Tuesday, 120 passengers were booked to fly on Avelo's first flight from Loveland to Las Vegas, CEO Andrew Levy told the Coloradoan. The Boeing 737-800 has 189 seats.

Levy, who worked for Allegiant Air when it flew from Loveland to Las Vegas, said he expects the route to be as popular for Avelo as it was for Allegiant.

"It performed very well ... at Allegiant for many years," Levy said. "I see no reason it can't perform well for us, too."

MORE: New offerings from Avelo, United help Northern Colorado Regional Airport spread its wings

If the two routes are as popular as Avelo believes they will be, the airline will look at adding increased frequency of flights or additional markets, he said. But that won't happen in the next month or two.

"We are not remotely thinking about what else happens until we make Burbank and Las Vegas work," he said. "A year from now, maybe we're talking new opportunities."

"It takes time to build business at an airport like (Northern Colorado)," Levy said. "We are selling a new brand but also trying to get people to a place they haven't gone to in a long time or maybe ever flown out of.

"I've seen it work extra well, and the chance of it working even better is high," given the increased population in Northern Colorado now compared with when Allegiant provided service, he said.

Since October, Avelo's passenger loads on flights to Hollywood Burbank have been growing but are not at the 80% capacity the airline eventually hopes to see.

"In general, we just need to build awareness in the region," Levy said. As people become more familiar with the airline, its routes and the convenience of flying from Loveland compared with driving to DIA, business will build, he said.

"It's a limited schedule, that's the negative, but what we can offer consumers in Northern Colorado is savings of time and a more pleasant, convenient, hassle-free experience than driving to DIA, parking, taking the shuttle and walking long distances," Levy said.

Avelo is still trying to establish a foothold in routes throughout the country and has been adding and subtracting routes. It abandoned flights from the Mesa, Arizona, airport after three months when the route did not meet its expectations. It also cut flights from Burbank to Monterey, California, and St. George, Utah — routes that were announced at the same time it announced the Northern Colorado service — as well as Bozeman, Montana, and Grand Junction.

"That will be a continuous process for us forever," Levy said. "It's the day-to-day blocking and tackling. The things that work well we want to do more of. The things that don't work as well, we'll make changes. There's a certain amount of trial and error."

Archive: New airline opens skies between Fort Collins and Southern California

Pat Ferrier is a senior reporter covering business, health care and growth issues in Northern Colorado. Contact her at patferrier@coloradoan.com. Please support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Flights from Fort Collins Loveland airport to Las Vegas begin