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Protesters in several US cities have railed against the airline for working with immigration authorities; spokesperson said financial considerations are key

The low-cost Avelo Airlines is leaving the West Coast as part of a strategic move to shutter its base at Burbank Airport in the Los Angeles area, and flights to and from the Rogue Valley will cease this winter.

Avelo operates through Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, and Avelo spokesperson Courtney Goff told the Rogue Valley Times in a statement Tuesday morning that the final flight out of MFR will be Dec. 2.

‘This was not an easy decision,” said Andrew Levy, company CEO, in an email. “Our company’s deepest operational roots are in Burbank, having launched our first flight there four years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe the continuation of service from Burbank in the current operating environment will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop.”

Goff said Rogue Valley customers who have flights booked through the Medford airport can visit the Manage Trips section of Avelo’s website to cancel their flight or receive a refund.

Avelo ran into some headwinds after announcing in April that it would fly federal deportation flights from Arizona. Protesters in several cities railed against the airline for working with immigration authorities.

Avelo will redeploy the aircraft assigned to canceled routes to business areas and beef up its East Coast operations, the company said.

“There is rarely one singular reason why decisions like this are made, and this one is no different,” Goff’s statement to the Times read. “Avelo has previously made several changes over the past few years to our West Coast operations to improve our financial results. Despite the investment of significant time, resources and efforts, our West Coast operations have not produced the results necessary to continue our presence there.

“The aircraft in (Burbank) are expected to support growth in our East Coast bases, where we have significantly more opportunity to continue our path to sustainable cash flow generation.”

The airline came on the travel scene with a fleet of 20 Boeing Next Generation 737 aircraft and started serving 55 destinations in the United States, Bahamas, Jamaica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. It used the Hollywood Burbank Airport as its base on the West Coast.

Airfares started with the low fair of $35 one way. Since starting five years ago, it has flown about 4 million customers on 30,000 flights, according to the company. Its business model was to provide air service to underserved communities with nonstop flights from smaller, easier to use airports.

In 2023 it achieved the industry’s lowest flight cancelation rates and was ranked No. 2 for on-time reliability, according to the company.