Airline grounds weekly leisure flights from Fresno to Reno. Here’s what happened

An airline that launched service from Fresno to Reno in November with three round trips each week has grounded its flights as its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, less than a year after it started in business.

aha! Airlines announced to its customers Tuesday that it ceased all of its flight operations upon the bankruptcy filing by ExpressJet Airlines. “We regret that a combination of market and economic conditions led us to take this action,” aha! Airlines said in a statement.

The first aha! Airlines flight between Fresno and Reno was Nov. 10, The company, a brand of ExpressJet Airlines, was aimed at attracting leisure travelers wanting to travel to Reno for short, spontaneous getaways, as well as business travelers.

ExpressJet was using Reno as its base of operations for the aha! brand, flying 50-seat Embraer ERJ145 jets to small and mid-sized airports in Washington, Oregon and California. Fresno was the eighth and final city of the airline’s initial start of service that began with flights between Reno and Pasco, Washington in October.

The airline also served airports in Medford/Ashland,. Eugene/Springfield and Redmond/Bend in Oregon, as well as Bakersfield, Ontario and Eureka/Arcata in California. It eventually added three additional airports to its routes: Spokane, Wash.; and Boise and Idaho Falls in Idaho.

aha! was the only airline offering flights between Fresno and Reno.

The airline advised customers holding tickets for travel to contact their credit card company for refunds. “Unfortunately we are unable to assist with alternative travel arrangements,” the company said in a statement. “We apologize for the inconvenience.

aha! was welcomed into the Fresno market with a celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony at Fresno Yosemite International Airport’s boarding gates that included Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, then-City Manager Thomas Esqueda, Assistant City Manager Greg Barfield and Kevin Meikle, then the city’s director of aviation.

“This destination has been on my wish list,” Dyer said at that time of the flights to Reno.

The establishment of the aha! brand was ExpressJet’s attempt to revive itself after turbulent business times in 2020. For years, ExpressJet operated regional jets, largely under agreements with United Airlines under the United Express brand, but amid the COVID-19 pandemic and schedule uncertainty, that arrangement came to an end in late 2020. ExpressJet received clearance from the U.S. Department of Transportation in July 2021 to initiate service as an independent airline and, in October 2021, began operation of the aha! brand.

In filings Tuesday with the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, ExpressJet reported that it was operating its aha! routes with four ERJ145 aircraft serving not only its scheduled flights to and from Reno but also charter service.

Through the first seven months of 2022, ExpressJet reported estimated gross revenues of about $5.5 million, while gross expenses added up to $23.3 million, making for an operating loss of almost $18 million.

“Because ExpressJet was losing money and did not have a clear path to return to profitability, ExpressJet ceased commercial and charter air operations on August 22, 2022, in order to conserve its resources for its Chapter 11 case and for the benefit of creditors,” ExpressJet president John Greenlee said in a declaration in support of the bankruptcy petition.

Greenlee added that the airline intends to liquidate its assets.

Among the assets available to the airline are cash on hand, a selection of new and used airline parts, general office equipment and supplies, and charter deposits and reserves from aircraft lease agreements. It also has its certificate to operate as an airline, “thus the certificate may have value to a purchaser” that might wish to take over operations.