- JetBlue founder David Neeleman on Friday announced the name for his new airline: Breeze.
- The airline was previously code-named Moxy.
- Breeze will fly routes between smaller cities that don't otherwise have direct service. It expects to start flights in late 2020.
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JetBlue founder David Neeleman launched his fifth start-up airline on Friday, announcing that the new carrier will be called Breeze.
The airline, which was previously code-named Moxy, just submitted its application for an airline operating certificate with the Federal Aviation Administration and US Department of Transportation.
The airline has been under discussion for several years as Neeleman worked to order aircraft and finalize plans.
After JetBlue, Neeleman - who was born in Brazil and raised in Utah - returned to Brazil, where he launched the low-cost airline Azul.
Azul entered the Brazilian market by launching routes between dozens of small and mid-sized cities that previously did not have direct flights from Brazil's larger airlines.
"It's really transformed Brazil in ways I could have never imagined," Neeleman said in a 2019 interview with Business Insider. "A lot of the cities we fly to, it's either you go on us or you take a four-day boat ride out of there."
Although there were operational challenges, the strategy paid off.
Azul, which has a market capitalization of more than $2.8 billion, has no competition on 70% of its routes and is dominant of 89% of its routes, Neeleman said in that earlier interview.
With Breeze, Neeleman plans to follow essentially the same strategy, launching point-to-point flights in markets that bigger airlines have either overlooked, or didn't consider to be worth the effort.
According to Neeleman, the opportunity exists because, as costs increase for airlines, they have a tendency to retrench their network to focus on their hubs and operate larger planes. They leave behind smaller, less trafficked destinations, creating opportunity.
"We think there's a market where you can go with a smaller plane with a lower trip cost and service these cities that have been forgotten or neglected," he said.
"I would be very surprised if a single Moxy" - now Breeze - "route had non-stop service competition. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of city pairs that are crying out for non-stop flights."
The airline has ordered 60 new Airbus A220-300 aircraft - a longer version of the A220-100s that have been highly successful for Delta. Air Canada recently began flying the -300 variant.
Breeze also plans to lease 30 Embraer E195 jets from Azul, which will begin being delivered in May 2020. The A220s are expected beginning in April 2021.
Neeleman hopes to be able to begin commercial operations by the end of 2020.
"20 years ago, we brought humanity back to the airline industry with JetBlue," he said in a press release. "Today, we're excited to introduce plans for 'the World's Nicest Airline'."