A new airline planned service from Boise to outdoors mecca in West. It’s already grounded
Idaho travelers planning fall trips or ski vacations to and from the Reno-Tahoe area will have to find another option.
Aha! airlines, based out of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport on the Nevada-California border, announced Tuesday that it had ceased all operations as a result of its Georgia-based parent company, ExpressJet Airlines, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The new low-cost airline, not yet a year old, was scheduled to launch nonstop flights at the Boise Airport starting Aug. 31.
“We regret that a combination of market and economic conditions lead us to take this action,” aha! announced on its website and social media pages Tuesday morning. “Unfortunately, we are unable to assist with alternative travel arrangements. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Aha! encouraged customers who booked flights with the airline to seek ticket refunds through their credit card companies.
Aha!’s planned launch at the end of the month in Boise would have marked the arrival of the third low-cost airline to join the lineup at the Boise Airport this year. Southern California-based Avelo Airlines started service through Boise in May, and South Florida-based Spirit Airlines had its first flight earlier this month.
Instead, the Boise Airport will for the time being maintain eight commercial air carriers — rather than adding its ninth with aha! — and 26 nonstop destinations, with the loss of a nonstop flight to Reno-Tahoe.
“We’re disappointed to hear aha!’s news this morning. They will not start service to Reno, Nevada next week,” Shawna Samuelson, a Boise Airport spokesperson, told the Idaho Statesman by email. “We encourage anyone who may have purchased tickets from the airline to please visit their website, flyaha.com, and follow the airline’s direction for refund options.”
Cut flights, but still on record pace
The news comes on the heels of flight reductions at the Boise Airport by its primary air carrier, Alaska Airlines. Those cutbacks include suspending the Seattle-based airline’s nonstop route between Boise and Austin, Texas.
Earlier this year, JetBlue Airways also exited the Boise market — ending its one year of offering a summer seasonal route back and forth from New York City’s JFK International Airport. Since that time, JetBlue announced its plan to acquire Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion, pending federal approval expected no later than the first half of 2024.
Aha! began operations in October, serving a number of smaller markets across the West, including Fresno, California; Spokane, Washington; and Bend, Oregon. The low-cost, no-frill airline had just two weeks ago added flights between Idaho Falls and Reno-Tahoe as it prepped to bring Boise into its portfolio.
The Boise Airport nonetheless continues the march toward its busiest year on record. In July — already the airport’s top travel month — the regional air hub counted its most passengers for a single month, at more than 422,000, according to airport data.
That new mark makes five straight months of record passenger counts and puts the airport on pace to best its current all-time annual high of more than 4.1 million passengers, which was set in 2019 — before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.