NoCo airport commission to consider Avelo service agreement

LOVELAND — The Northern Colorado Regional Airport Commission will decide on Thursday whether to accept a negotiated agreement with Avelo Airlines, the new airline that plans to begin regular flights between Loveland and the Los Angeles area Oct. 6.

The agreement will provide city marketing assistance and waiver of fees for the airline’s first year in exchange for the service that could result in a projected 14,000 enplanements per year.

The Airline Air Service Agreement commits Avelo to no less than two flights per week. In the first year of operation, the agreement commits the city to paying airline vendors $15,000 to be used to advertise and promote the airport and the service. Also for the first year, the city would waive landing fees, terminal fees, fuel flowage fees and similar charges, a benefit estimated at $35,000.

Avelo would pay for law enforcement and security services resulting from the fixed-route service, pay airport fees after the first year and purchase a minimum of 1,000 gallons of jet fuel per flight. The airline plans to fly 189-seat Boeing 737-800 jets.

In a memo to the commission, airport staff said the service will result in a direct return of $850,000 minimum in federal funding in 2024 and “unlocks more potential for federal funding assistance …”

The airport also expects an estimated revenue stream of $206,000 from passenger facility charges, parking revenue, concessions, fuel-tax reimbursements and more. 

If the commission and the Loveland and Fort Collins city councils approve the agreement, service would begin Oct. 6. Avelo, a startup airline that was formed this year, also plans fixed routes between the airline’s base at the Hollywood/Burbank Airport and the cities of Provo, Utah; Monterey, California; and St. George, Utah.

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