- Low-cost newcomer Breeze Airways announced 19 new routes and 2 new cities, which start at $29 one-way.
- The rapidly growing carrier will add Vero Beach, Florida, and Cincinnati, Ohio as new pins starting next year.
Flying to some small, hard-to-reach cities across the US just got a little easier.
Low-cost carrier Breeze Airways announced 19 new routes with two new destinations on Wednesday in an effort to better connect medium-sized cities with underserved markets in leisure-heavy states, like Florida and Nevada.
The new cities include Cincinnati, Ohio, and Vero Beach, Florida. Cincinnati will get two routes to Charleston, South Carolina, and San Francisco, while Vero Beach will get three routes to Hartford, Connecticut; White Plains, New York; and Norfolk, Virginia.
Breeze founder and CEO David Neeleman told Insider that Vero Beach is a popular destination because many customers have second homes there, but there's little airline service. Elite Airways is the only operator at the airport, flying scheduled passenger flights to Newark, New Jersey, and Portland, Maine, on select days.
"During the peak, for example, JetBlue flies five nonstops from White Plains to West Palm Beach, and I would say 20-25% of those people go up to Vero," Neeleman said. "It's about an hour and a half drive up from West Palm [Beach, Florida], so it's more convenient to fly right into Vero."
Breeze's expansion also includes several niche routes, particularly from Charleston, Orlando, Florida, and Hartford, Connecticut. All three cities are getting four new routes, with Hartford getting three transcontinental flights connecting the Northeast to western states, like Utah, California, and Arizona.
Meanwhile, the larger markets of Charleston and Orlando will now connect to small cities in Arkansas, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
Six of the new routes will have a "BreezeThru" connection, according to the carrier, meaning customers will have a layover, but will not exit the plane.
The low-cost newcomer was built on the idea of creating a point-to-point network targeting small or medium-sized airports that do not already have nonstop service, so the 2023 expansion comes as no surprise.
Recently launched niche routes like Richmond, Virginia to San Francisco and Syracuse, New York to Las Vegas, are maintaining strong demand, Neeleman told Insider, but also represent the carrier's focus on transcontinental travel.
"Vegas is our second-largest city in terms of [seats] because they are longer flights and the only nonstop options, especially from cities like Syracuse," he explained. "And, Huntsville[, Alabama] to Vegas is doing really well too."
On these longer flights, Breeze has taken a different approach to the customer experience, offering a much different product compared to competitors like Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
Instead of carting passengers around in an all-economy cabin with non-reclining seats and minimal legroom, Breeze's new Airbus A220, planes, which primarily fly coast-to-coast, boast a two-class cabin with 30 inches of pitch in regular economy.
The legroom is already two inches more than Spirit and Frontier, which both offer 28 inches, and actually on par with Delta, American, and United — all of which have narrowbody Airbus and Boeing jets with 30 inches of pitch, according to SeatGuru.
Meanwhile, the carrier's Embraer regional jets fly shorter distances, usually only a couple of hours between cities, but still come with perks, like reclining seats and a place to prop a smartphone or tablet on the seatback. Customers can also pay for more amenities, like extra legroom and snacks, as part of the Breeze's a-la-carte business model.
Take a closer look at Breeze's 19 new routes coming in 2023, including 11 nonstops and eight BreezeThru.
Between Orlando and Akron, Ohio
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays between Orlando and Akron starting on March 1 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $39 one-way.
Between Orlando and Tulsa, Oklahoma
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays between Orlando and Tulsa starting on March 1 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $39 one-way.
Between Orlando and Huntsville
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays between Orlando and Huntsville starting on March 2 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $49 one-way.
Between Orlando and Bentonville
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays between Orlando and Bentonville starting on March 3 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $49 one-way.
Between Hartford and Vero Beach
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays between Hartford and Vero Beach starting on February 2 using an Airbus A220 aircraft. Fares start at $79 one-way.
Between Hartford and Phoenix
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays between Hartford and Phoenix starting on February 90 using an Airbus A220 aircraft. Fares start at $99 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Charleston or Richmond, depending on the day.
Between Hartford and Provo, Utah
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays between Hartford and Provo starting on February 9 using an Airbus A220 aircraft. Fares start at $129 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Phoenix.
Between Hartford and San Bernardino
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays between Hartford and Bernardino starting on February 16 using an Airbus A220 aircraft. Fares start at $99 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Las Vegas.
Between Charleston and Cincinnati
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays between Charleston and Cincinnati starting on February 1 using an Airbus A220 aircraft. Fares start at $39 one-way.
Between Charleston and Tulsa
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays between Charleston and Tulsa starting on March 1 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $69 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Orlando.
Between Charleston and Huntsville
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays between Charleston and Huntsville starting on March 2 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $69 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Orlando.
Between Charleston and Bentonville
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays between Charleston and Bentonville starting on March 3 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $69 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Orlando.
Between Phoenix and Bentonville
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Mondays and Thursdays between Phoenix and Bentonville starting on February 17 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $49 one-way.
Between Phoenix and Richmond
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays between Phoenix and Richmond starting on February 10 using an Airbus A220 aircraft. Fares start at $99 one-way.
Between Phoenix and New Orleans
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays between Phoenix and New Orleans starting on February 17 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $99 one-way and be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Bentonville.
Between Cincinnati and San Francisco
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays between Cincinnati and San Francisco starting on February 1 using an Airbus A220 aircraft. Fares start at $99 one-way.
Between Las Vegas and San Bernardino, California
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays between Las Vegas and San Bernardino starting on February 16 using an Airbus A220 aircraft. Fares start at $29 one-way.
Between Vero Beach and White Plains, New York
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays between Vero Beach and White Plains starting on February 3 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $79 one-way.
Between Vero Beach and Norfolk
Breeze will fly twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays between Vero Beach and Norfolk starting on February 3 using an Embraer 190/195 aircraft. Fares start at $89 one-way and be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via White Plains.