6 Avelo Airlines Boeing 737s that were once with Southwest Airlines

Avelo Airlines is one of the youngest airlines in the United States. As the carrier approaches its fourth anniversary, which will be on April 28, 2025, Avelo has grown its fleet to 20 aircraft. These 20 Boeing 737s have been acquired on the market from other lessors and operators, and six of them were formerly in Southwest Airlines' fleet.

Data from ch-aviation shows that Avelo's planes are, on average, 16.9 years old. The -800 sub-fleet is younger than the -700, at 15.2 and 18.6 years, respectively. The youngest -800 in the fleet is just over 12 years old, while the oldest has passed 19 years.

With its small fleet, Avelo has already served millions of passengers, and its route network has expanded to include more than 50 destinations. Most recently, it began its first international flights, starting with Cancún and Montego Bay. In the near future, Avelo will launch flights to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

Most recently, Avelo announced a major network expansion and the opening of two new crew bases in North Carolina. The first base will open in March and the second in April. Between the two new bases, Avelo expects to add 100 jobs, with flight attendants, pilots, ground crew, and more.

Founder and CEO Andrew Levy said,

“Our North Carolina Customers tell us they’ve loved flying Avelo since we took flight in North Carolina two years ago. Our 27 nonstop destinations are just the beginning. Establishing bases in Charlotte and Wilmington, as well as our international expansion at our RDU base, enables us to bring even more affordable, convenient and industry-leading reliability to more destinations.”

The full list of aircraft is below:

According to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, Avelo has over 1,000 flights scheduled on its Boeing 737-800s this month. Of the 20 aircraft in Avelo’s fleet, 12 are -800s. These planes operate several routes, only one of which is operated daily throughout the entire month.

This month, the flight from New Haven to Orlando operates ten times weekly. This is the busiest -800 flight in Avelo’s network, with 48 roundtrips throughout the month. With 189 seats per flight, Avelo has more than 18,000 seats available between the two airports.

From New Haven, Avelo also has more than 30 flights to Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, but neither of the two routes is operated daily. Starting December 19, the airline will operate to Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) daily.

The same goes for the flight to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), which has more than 11,000 seats available in December.

The longest -800 route in December is from Hartford, Connecticut to Cancún, Mexico. The flight down to the Mexican city is 1,661 miles long and is only operated twice weekly. Avelo’s second-longest route is also its second international route, which is to

Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This route is also only operated twice weekly.

The shortest flight operated by Avelo’s -800s is just over 400 miles. The flight between Concord–Padgett Regional Airport (USA) and Wilmington Airport (ILG) is 408 miles long and operated twice weekly. With 18 total flights, Avelo has 3,402 seats available.

The second-shortest route is from Delta Air Lines’ biggest hub, Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to

Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL) in Florida. The flight between the Georgia and Florida airports is just 415 miles long. This route is operated with the same frequency as the one above.

The third route under 500 miles is also operated twice weekly and has 3,402 seats available. This route is from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) in North Carolina. The flight between the two airports is exactly 450 miles.

N701VL

Boeing 737-700

The first aircraft, N701VL was ordered by Southwest Airlines on April 20, 2006. According to data from ch-aviation, N701VL’s first flight was on January 9, 2008. Just two weeks later Boeing delivered the plane to Southwest.

When the plane was in Southwest’s fleet, it was registered as N905WN. The low-cost carrier operated the -700 for almost 13 years before retiring it on November 5, 2020. The aircraft remained in storage until August 2021 when Avelo signed a lease that is expected to last through August 2027.

As of December 2020, data from Boeing showed that the plane had 43,116 flight hours and 25,941 flight cycles. The average flight time for this plane was one hour and forty minutes. Under Southwest, the plane was used for just over nine hours daily. Flight data has not been available since the plane joined Avelo’s fleet.

N702VL

Boeing 737-700

N702VL was part of the same order as N701VL from Southwest in 2006. When Southwest operated the aircraft, it bore a different tail number, N916WN. The plane’s first flight was on March 14, 2008, and it was delivered to Southwest about two weeks later.

Southwest held onto N702VL slightly longer than the first plane on this list. Data shows it was in Southwest’s fleet until February 24, 2021. In less than six months, it was picked up by Avelo, which changed the registration to N702VL.

As of April 2021, data from Boeing showed that N702VL had 42,760 flight hours, most of which were on Southwest. Ch-aviation shows that XTRA Airways, Avelo’s former charter name, operated the plane for 83 hours in March. Since then, no more data has been available.

N703VL

Boeing 737-700

N703VL bears manufacturer serial number (MSN) 36626. Like the first two aircraft on this list, it was part of the order that Southwest placed in April 2006. Boeing flew its first test flight with N703VL on April 23, 2008, and delivered the plane to Southwest on May 5, 2008.

Southwest operated the plane for nearly thirteen years under the registration N921WN. Data shows that Southwest retired the plane on January 22, 2021. In September, Avelo began operating the plane and changed the tail number to N703VL.

When Southwest retired the plane, it had been flown for nearly 42,000 hours. Its average flight time with Southwest was one hour and forty minutes. Annually, the plane flew about 3,218 hours, breaking down to eight hours and forty-nine minutes.

N707VL

Boeing 737-700

N707VL was ordered several years before the other planes listed above. According to ch-aviation, this plane was part of an order that Southwest placed in January 1998. However, unlike the planes in the other order, which were delivered within two years of order, N707VL took ten years to be delivered.

The first flight was on March 25, 2008, and Boeing delivered the plane to Southwest on April 8, 2008. The airline operated the plane until September 1, 2020. After that, it sat for more than two years until Southwest Airlines leased it in April 2022.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia owns the aircraft and leases it to Avelo. After the young airline had signed its lease, the registration was changed to N707VL, which is the number it bears today. In the 12+ years of operation, Southwest put the -700 through 42,268 hours of flying.

N708VL

Boeing 737-700

N708VL is the oldest 737-700 on this list. At 20.55 years of age, it has significantly more flight hours than the other planes. It was ordered by ILFC, a lessor which merged into AerCap, in 1999.

The plane’s first flight was on June 2, 2004, and 13 days later, it was delivered to Southwest. Data shows that Southwest operated the -700 until August 5, 2022. In those 18 years, Southwest put nearly 60,000 flight hours on the plane.

Under Southwest, N708VL bore a different registration, N486WN. But in November 2022, Avelo signed the lease with Macquarie AirFinance and changed the tail number.

N8604K

Boeing 737-800

The only 737-800 on this list, N8604K, is less than 13 years old. It was part of an order placed by Aviation Capital Group in January 2008. It was delivered to Southwest in June 2012 and operated by Southwest for just over 12 years.

As soon as Southwest retired the plane in August of this year, Avelo picked it up. Since Avelo started operating N8604K, it has kept the same tail number used by Southwest. The plane is still owned by Aviation Capital Group, and the lease is estimated to end in September 2029.

In 12 years, Southwest put more than 40,000 flight hours on N8604K. The average flight time for N8604K was two hours and nine minutes, and data shows that it flew for an average of nine hours and five minutes per day.