At a press conference earlier this morning (July 13) the City of Salem — joined by community partners at Travel Salem, Fly Salem, and the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce — announced that Salem Municipal Airport will begin commercial service to Las Vegas and Los Angeles this October. Avelo Airlines was announced as the carrier.
The exciting announcement comes after years of hard work by community organizations to get commercial air service off of the ground and marks the first time the Salem Airport will offer commercial service since 2009.
“The vision of Salem having passenger service has been a shared one with so many of our community members, our partner organizations, elected leaders, and business owners working together toward a common goal of moving our city forward,” said Salem Mayor Chris Hoy. “In the last decade, our city has grown dramatically and more growth is on the horizon.”
“It helps our small business community,” said Salem Chamber CEO Tom Hoffert. “It helps keep employment. (https://www.napavalley.com/) And it helps the engine keep running, not just for Salem, but for the entire Willamette Valley. It is about conductivity, allowing people to come in and out, but still call Salem home.”
“This is like putting a Fortune 500 company right in the middle of the community, the job creation, and just the exponential ripple effect of bringing in new dollars to our local businesses,” said Travel Salem President/CEO Angie Villery.
Avelo Airlines, a relatively young (after being rebranded from Xtra Airways in 2021) low-fare carrier based out of Houston, Texas, will be the initial exclusive carrier to the Salem Airport. Avelo will begin service on October 5, 2023, with twice-weekly flights (Thursdays and Sundays) to Las Vegas. On October 6, the airline will begin flying to Hollywood Burbank Airport in Los Angeles, initially offering flights on Fridays and Mondays before transitioning to Thursdays and Sundays starting on November 2.
“We hope to inspire travel, that’s our mission and why we started flying,” said Avelo Airlines Communications Manager Courtney Goff. “And we do that with really low fares, really convenient airports, and of course, the reliability factor.”
Travelers can begin booking flights now at aveloair.com. Fares will start as low as $39 one-way (plus taxes and fees).
“We appreciate our board of directors who stood firmly behind this,” Hoffert said. “Thank you to Angie, her team, and the board team at Travel Salem; and to the City Council, the City team, and the staff professional team for making today a reality. Let’s celebrate this moment. Thank you, Salem.”
