Avelo Airlines orders up to 100 Embraer E195-E2 jets for flexible route planning

Avelo’s network is currently focused on the East Coast after cutting several West Coast services and closing its Burbank base in California. Its business model targets travelers visiting friends and relatives between secondary cities that often lack non-stop connections. This results in some routes with limited demand.

The Embraer E195-E2 seats about 140 passengers—fewer than either version of Avelo’s current Boeings. The retiring -700s had just under 150 seats; the -800s have up to 189 seats. This gives Avelo flexibility to assign aircraft based on route demand and competition levels.

Analysis of Department of Transportation data shows that while Avelo averaged a load factor of about 75% across all flights in 2024, several routes performed well below this average—some with loads as low as 20%. Examples include Pasco-Santa Rosa (20%), Orlando-Miami (33%), and Mobile-Orlando (40%). Many such underperforming routes had few total departures.

Additionally, financing played a role in this deal. Reports indicate Embraer provided significant debt financing during Avelo’s latest funding round—the largest investment since the company’s Series A in 2020.

Avelo was founded in 2018 and operates as an ultra-low-cost carrier with hubs at Hollywood Burbank Airport (now closed), Tweed New Haven Airport, Harry Reid International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Raleigh–Durham International Airport, and Wilmington Airport.

For Embraer, this agreement provides greater access to the US market—a key region where more than 700 E175 jets are already flying according to Cirium data cited by FlightGlobal (https://www.flightglobal.com/fleets/embraers-e2-will-break-through-in-us-with-avelo-order/156167.article).

"the single largest investment" in the company since its Series A funding in 2020