The U.S. is getting its third new airline this year with Sunday’s first flights for Aha! Airlines, a new carrier with a hub at Reno, Nevada and plans to serve a cluster of small cities from there before expanding. The name is meant to suggest ‘air, hotel, adventure.’
Its first routes link the Reno/Lake Tahoe area with Fresno, Bakersfield and Ontario in California; Medford and Redmond, Oregon and Pasco/Tri-Cities in central Washington.
Maybe it should have chosen Phoenix, because while the brand is new, the company isn’t; the new airline is rising from the ashes of ExpressJet, a long-term operator of regional flights for major airlines that shut down after losing its contract last year for United Airlines Express flights.
Unlike the other fledglings, Avelo and Breeze, Aha!’s fleet is limited to tiny regional jets, 50-seat Embraer RJ145s that lack full-size carry-on bins and other popular amenities. Carry-ons will have to be gate-checked at $30 apiece. Other fees range from $10 to $100 for such things as seat assignments and extra bags.
Avelo, with hubs at Burbank, California and New Haven, Connecticut, flies 737s. Breeze, whose initial hubs include Norfolk, New Orleans, Charleston and Tampa, started operations with hundred-plus seat E195s as it awaits the sixty A220s it has on order. All three of the airlines believe there’s a passenger base to be developed in smaller cities, but have different views on connecting them to longer-distance routes.
