Avelo Airlines pulling out of Redmond, West Coast several weeks early, leaving customers scrambling
Barney Lerten
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Avelo Airlines, which announced this summer that it would be ending its flights out of Redmond on Dec. 1, confirmed Friday to KTVZ News that it will be leaving the West Coast over a month earlier than planned, leaving customers scrambling for new flights and refunds.
“We elected to end our services at RDM early, on October 20, due to aircraft needs elsewhere and lack of demand during our final month,” Avelo Communications Manager Courtney Goff told us.
“We have alerted all customers with their options and apologize for any inconvenience incurred,” Goff added.
Avelo Airlines had announced in July that it would be closing its base in Burbank and eventually cease services at the Redmond Airport, as it expands operations on the East Coast.
Avelo said at the time it would halt its Redmond flights to Sonoma County and Las Vegas in August, but continue its flights to Burbank until Dec. 1.
The early end to the final Burbank flights came as a surprise to many, including Redmond Airport Director Zachary Bass.
“We just found out about it,” Bass told KTVZ News Thursday. “Other airports got a little head’s up. October 20th is their last day here and the West Coast.”
Asked about refunds, Avelo’s Goff told us, “Customers have received an email stating their options to reaccommodate to an earlier flight or refunded to their original form of payment on their current booking.”
An upset customer from Bend who had booked an Avelo flight with his wife to visit family for three days in November contacted KTVZ News. He said he was told after long on-hold phone calls by a customer representative in Houston that they would not refund his credit card – instead only offering ‘Avelo Cash’ credit for future travel, valid for five years.
“They’re leaving the West Coast! How can we ever use those credits?” he asked.
KTVZ News asked Avelo’s Goff about the report and she could not provide specifics without knowing the customer’s name and details, again stating, “If their flight was canceled by us, they would be refunded to the payment method they used for their current booking.”
The customer, who asked that his name not be used, said he followed the email directions from the airline on how to get a refund, canceling the flight through the airline’s app.
“Our plan is down the drain,” he said.
Two weeks after Avelo’s announcement this summer, Alaska Airlines announced that it will be adding year-round daily flights between Redmond and Burbank, starting in October. Breeze Airways also announced that it will be serving Redmond starting next March, including flights to Burbank, Las Vegas and Provo-Salt Lake City.
The upset Avelo customer said the flight cancellation and refund situation “left such a bad taste in our mouth,” they will be sticking with established airlines like Alaska and Delta, not others who could be “here today and gone the next day.”
He also said he emailed Avelo’s customer relations – and cc’d his congressman. “This is horrible, what they are doing,” he said.