Avelo

The inaugural flight of an Avelo Airlines Boeing 737-800 takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa on April 28, 2021.Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty ImagesIn the nearly four years since the Covid-19 pandemic upended air travel, the largest U.S. airlines have returned to profitability. The CEOs of two upstart airlines that launched in the middle of the pandemic say they're about to join them.Avelo and Breeze Airways, two low-cost carriers that debuted in 2021 when…

A new domestic airline took flight in California in April 2021. Avelo Airlines, an ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) founded by aviation industry veteran Andrew Levy, carried its first passengers on a 75-minute trip from Burbank to Santa Rosa, in California wine country, aboard a 189-seat Boeing 737. For introductory fares that started at $19 one way along the route, fliers were offered a seat . . . but not much else. There was no in-flight Wi-Fi or entertainment system. Carry ons and checked bags both cost extra, as did…