Breeze Airways: What to Know About the Newest U.S. Budget Airline
Breeze, the newest airline from JetBlue CEO David Neeleman, looks like it’s going to be a breath of fresh air for the airline industry.
Neeleman made a statement on Friday announcing the name of his latest endeavor – a U.S.-based budget airline called Breeze Airways. The new carrier, originally known by the codename “Moxy,” has officially submitted its application for operations with the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation after many years of planning, Business Insider reported.
The birth of a new airline is always exciting for both the leaders of these companies and potential travelers. Another budget airline could mean more access to certain destinations and more choice when it comes to spending money on airfare.
Since the development of Breeze is still ongoing, here’s what we know so far about the new airline:
Breeze promises to provide routes to underserved markets.
Neeleman said in a statement that Breeze will be flying to airports and destinations “that bigger airlines overlook.” Generally, these are places that don’t have direct flights, especially from larger airports, are secondary airports for major cities, or require at least one (or more) stops or modes of transportation in order to get there.
“I would be very surprised if a single [Breeze] route had non-stop service competition. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of city pairs that are crying out for non-stop flights,” Neeleman said.
Routes have not yet announced, but according to The Points Guy, the first routes will most likely be easily accessed from Breeze’s hub in Salt Lake City, Utah. “It’s really just trying to find a cluster. You can’t be popping all over the place. We’re working on a couple of airports and we’ll see who actually comes to the to the party,” Neeleman said. “We don’t want to spread ourselves too thin.”
It’s going to be the "world’s nicest airline."
Niceness might be subjective, but considering that JetBlue usually ranks fairly high in customer satisfaction, we expect the same business practices will apply to Breeze as well.
“20 years ago, we brought humanity back to the airline industry with JetBlue,” Neeleman said in a statement. “Today, we're excited to introduce plans for 'the World's Nicest Airline'.”
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Breeze is Neeleman’s fifth airline.
Sometimes, it’s unclear whether a fledgling airline will be able to survive in such a competitive market, but Neeleman is exceptionally experienced with launching regional, budget-friendly airlines.
Beyond JetBlue and Breeze, Neeleman has launched three other airlines: Canada’s WestJet, Brazil’s Azul, and another Utah-based carrier Morris Air (now operated by Southwest), CNN reported.
Its fleet will compete with the big guys.
The carrier announced it has ordered 60 new Airbus A220-300 aircraft, a slightly longer version of the Airbus A220-100, which is popular with some major airlines. Breeze also plans to lease about 30 Embraer E195 jets from Azul in Brazil. These jets are expected to be delivered in May of this year, while the Airbus jets are expected in April 2021.
Breeze may start flying this year.
According to The Points Guy, the actual start date is not yet announced, but may start as early as late 2020.
“We’re certainly not putting out a definitive date because we have a FAA certification process and it wouldn’t be fair to the FAA to say,” Neeleman told The Points Guy. “I have total confidence we’ll get it done. I just can’t give you the exact date.”
People in and around Salt Lake City should keep their eyes peeled for some travel options in the near future.
