Breeze Airways is one of the newest airlines in the United States, which started operations on May 27, 2021, connecting Tampa (TPA) in Florida and Charleston (CHS) in South Carolina. David Neeleman is the company’s founder and CEO, one of the industry’s living legends who was also involved in the creation of Azul Brazilian Airlines, Jetblue, Westjet, and Morris Air.
Neeleman announced in a year-end open letter that since its launch, Breeze has flown more than 5,500 flights carrying 330,000 passengers, 20% of whom have become frequent flyers with the airline.
Breeze commenced operations with a fleet of Embraer 190 and E195 aircraft configured for 108 and 118 seats, respectively. It now has 10 aircraft of the smaller model and three of the E195, and will soon receive another 33 aircraft. It also has an order for 80 Airbus A220-300s, the first of which was delivered in December.
«Looking ahead to 2022, the first of the 80 new Airbus A220 aircraft will be introduced into the fleet along with our new non-stop routes. We have already announced additional new services starting in February from New York/Islip and Palm Beach International. The journey is just beginning,» Neeleman said.
The airline serves 16 medium and small (by U.S. standards) cities via 42 routes, using Tampa (Florida), Charleston (South Carolina), New Orleans (Louisiana) and Norfolk (Virginia) as its base. By February, eight new routes will be launched, including the landing and creation of a base in West Palm Beach (Florida) and Long Island/Islip (New York).e Embraer will kick-start the airline’s growth.
See also: Breeze Airways expands to Long Island and Palm Beach
See also: Breeze unveils first Airbus A220 and orders additional aircraft
Breeze’s business model is focused on connecting small and medium-sized cities with low or zero competition. Like Neeleman’s previous companies, Breeze is a hybrid between a low-cost carrier (LCC) and a traditional airline. The offerings include some common LCC features, such as a point-to-point route network and fees for additional services. In addition, its aircraft do not have in-flight entertainment screens in the seats, but instead, opt to offer streaming content to personal electronic devices.
The airline will also offer additional amenities such as a premium class, called «Nicest», which will be launched on its Airbus A220-300s and will consist of 36 reclining seats in a 2-2 configuration, plus 10 non-reclining middle seats and 80 in economy class in a 2-3 configuration.
The airline expects to receive twelve A220s between 2022 and 2023, so the Embraer fleet will continue to play a key factor in Breeze’s expansion plans.
