As Avelo Airlines approaches the third anniversary of its first flight, the company has announced it completed 2023 with strong year-over-year revenue growth, its first-ever profitable quarter, and one of the lowest cost structures in the US airline industry.

In 2023, Avelo flew 2.3 million customers, generating $265 million in revenue – up 74% from 2022. Avelo concluded 2023 with a pre-tax fully allocated profit for its fourth quarter.

Despite ongoing high fuel prices, Avelo’s record monthly pre-tax margin in December 2023 contributed to the company’s Q4 earnings milestone.

For the full year 2023, Avelo improved its pretax margin by 15 percentage points compared to 2022.

Avelo Airlines founder, chairman and CEO, Andrew Levy, said: “Achieving our first profitable quarter is an exciting and significant milestone in Avelo’s journey. I am confident Avelo’s strong liquidity position, ongoing margin improvement, healthy revenue outlook, industry-leading reliability, and rigorous cost discipline will deliver our first profitable year in 2024.

“As we approach Avelo’s third anniversary, I am very bullish about our future and the substantial opportunities ahead of us. I am especially appreciative of our dedicated 1,000 Avelo crewmembers whose One Crew teamwork and friendly customer focus will ensure Avelo continues to thrive in 2024 and beyond.”

Avelo also said it is establishing the lowest cost structure of any US airline.

In Q3 2023, Avelo reported a 6.9 cents stage length-adjusted Cost per Average Seat Mile (CASM) excluding fuel – the lowest in the US airline industry.

This improved further in Q4 2023 to 6.6 cents, again one of the industry’s best unit cost outcomes. Avelo achieved this unit cost outcome despite relatively low aircraft utilisation of eight hours per day or less.

Avelo Airlines CFO Hunter Keay said: “Avelo achieved this profitable outcome – unadjusted and free of special items – despite a high fuel price in the period on the back of a strong demand environment and a low non-fuel cost structure that continues to improve.

“Avelo’s non-fuel unit costs are half of the US airline industry average, and we see this gap widening in 2024. Low costs enable low fares, which is even more important to consumers in the current high-inflation environment.”
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