Breeze Airways is the much anticipated airline startup in the United States. The guy behind the airline is David Neeleman, who also founded JetBlue. Breeze has been in the works for a long time now, and the airline is finally becoming a reality, despite the pandemic.
Breeze Airways has officially launched, and flights are now on sale (starting at $39 one-way). Let’s take a look at the details of this intriguing airline.
Breeze’s unique route network
Breeze is a leisure airline that will primarily operate point-to-point routes in underserved markets, and the carrier’s launch routes clearly reflect that. Breeze claims that 95% of its routes aren’t currently served nonstop by other airlines, so that’s pretty cool to see.
Breeze will initially operate 39 nonstop routes between 16 cities in the Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and Eastern United States. The first route will launch May 27 (yep, in less than a week), and all 39 routes will launch by July 22.
Breeze will initially have four focus cities:
- Tampa, FL
- Charleston, SC
- New Orleans, LA
- Norfolk, VA
Before we get into the details, here’s Breeze’s routemap, to give you a general sense of what to expect:
Breeze’s routes from Tampa
From Tampa, Breeze will operate routes to 10 destinations:
- Charleston, SC (starting May 27)
- Louisville, KY (starting May 28)
- Tulsa, OK (starting June 4)
- Norfolk, VA (starting June 10)
- Bentonville/Fayetteville, AR (starting June 17)
- Akron/Canton, OH (starting June 26)
- Oklahoma City, OK (starting July 1)
- Columbus, OH (starting July 3)
- Huntsville, AL (starting July 22)
- Richmond, VA (starting July 22)
Breeze’s routes from Charleston
From Charleston, Breeze will operate routes to 11 destinations:
- Hartford, CT (starting May 27)
- Tampa, FL (starting May 27)
- Louisville, KY (starting May 28)
- Norfolk, VA (starting June 10)
- Akron/Canton, OH (starting July 8)
- Columbus, OH (starting July 8)
- New Orleans, LA (starting July 8)
- Pittsburgh, PA (starting July 8)
- Richmond, VA (starting July 8)
- Huntsville, AL (starting July 15)
- Providence, RI (starting July 22)
Breeze’s routes from Norfolk
From Norfolk, Breeze will operate routes to seven destinations:
- Charleston, SC (starting June 10)
- Tampa, FL (starting June 10)
- New Orleans, LA (starting July 15)
- Columbus, OH (starting July 22)
- Hartford, CT (starting July 22)
- Pittsburgh, PA (starting July 22)
- Providence, RI (starting July 29)
Breeze’s routes from New Orleans
From New Orleans, Breeze will operate routes to 10 destinations:
- Charleston, SC (starting July 8)
- Akron/Canton, OH (starting July 15)
- Bentonville/Fayetteville, AR (starting July 15)
- Huntsville, AL (starting July 15)
- Louisville, KY (starting July 15)
- Norfolk, VA (starting July 15)
- Oklahoma, OK (starting July 15)
- Richmond, VA (starting July 15)
- Tulsa, OK (starting July 15)
- Columbus, OH (starting July 16)
Breeze Airways won’t have change fees
All Breeze Airways tickets will be flexible:
- There will be no change or cancelation fees
- Passengers can change or cancel flights up to 15 minutes before scheduled departure without penalty
- Unused ticket funds will be valid for 24 months
While most airlines in the USA have eliminated most kinds of change fees, there have generally been exceptions for basic economy. This is fantastic to see from Breeze, since the airline has very low fares that still offer flexibility.
Breeze’s fares: “Nice” & “Nicer”
Breeze’s entry level fares will be known as “Nice” fares:
- They’ll include a complimentary personal item, like a backpack or purse
- Passengers can pay extra to assign a seat or check bags
- Bags can be carried on or checked for $20 each (up to three bags) and seats can be assigned for as little as $10
Breeze’s more expensive fares will be known as “Nicer” fares:
- They’ll include a personal item, a carry-on bag, a checked bag, a complimentary drink and snack, and priority boarding
- Speaking of snacks, the onboard selection will include items from Utz and KIND
Eventually Breeze will also introduce a premium cabin (“Nicest”), but we don’t have many details on that just yet.
Breeze’s “BreezePoints” rewards program
Breeze will reward travelers with “BreezePoints.” Those booking a “Nice” fare earn BreezePoints worth 2% of their fare, while those booking a “Nicer” fare earn BreezePoints worth 4% of their fare.
Those points can be used towards future flights or ancillary products, like bags or seat assignments.
Breeze’s fleet & inflight experience
Breeze Airways will initially operate a fleet of 13 Embraer aircraft:
- 10 Embraer E-190s will be configured with 108 seats
- Three Embraer E-195s will be configured with 118 seats
- Passengers can choose from “Nice” seats (standard seats with 29-31″ of pitch) or “Nicer” seats (33-39″ of pitch)
- These Embraer aircraft are in a 2-2 configuration, so don’t have middle seats
- Breeze won’t have Wi-Fi on these planes, but will have streaming entertainment powered by Global Eagle
- These planes will operate flights that are an average of under two hours long
In the long run, the Airbus A220 will be the backbone of Breeze’s fleet:
- Breeze has ordered 60 Airbus A220s
- The first aircraft will be delivered in October 2021, and we should expect roughly one new A220 every month for the next five years
- Breeze will have inflight entertainment and Wi-Fi on these planes
- A220s will include a premium cabin, called “Nicest,” which will be in the front of the plane and in a 2-2 configuration (rather than the 2-3 configuration in economy)
- These planes will operate flights that are an average over two hours long
My take: what an awesome airline, but…
Talk about an airline startup that legitimately adds value:
- The airline primarily operates routes that other airlines don’t fly
- The fares are extremely reasonable, and there are no change fees
- Breeze’s ancillary pricing is among the lowest in the industry, like $20 for a checked bag or carry-on if your fare doesn’t include one
Breeze has really done something unique here, and I’d consider Breeze to basically be a hybrid between Allegiant and JetBlue.
As someone who lived in Tampa for much of my life, I’m thrilled to see Tampa get so much love from Breeze. But Breeze’s (hopefully) fantastic business model of connecting point-to-point routes that are underserved also gets at why I probably won’t end up flying the airline much.
Breeze won’t be flying between major cities, and unless you have a specific connection to a city pair (like, you live in Tampa and have business in Bentonville or family in Tulsa), there probably won’t be all that many opportunities to fly Breeze. I’ll definitely give Breeze a try when the airline takes delivery of A220s with first class, but I’m not sure I’ll go out of my way to fly the airline before then.
Bottom line
It’s fantastic to see Breeze Airways finally launching. The airline is a valuable addition to the aviation landscape, as it will primarily operate flights in markets that aren’t currently served.
Furthermore, I’m a huge fan of the carrier’s fare structure — there are no change fees, and even though Breeze is a low cost carrier, fees are very reasonable, like $20 for a checked bag or carry-on (if your fare doesn’t otherwise include it).
What do you make of Breeze Airways’ launch?
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