Earlier this year, Jetblue founder and serial airline entrepreneur David Neeleman launched Breeze Airways, a new low-cost airline boasting 39 previously underserved routes across the U.S.
After years of anticipation, the first Breeze aircraft made headlines this past May after making its inaugural flight from Tampa to Charleston. For the past seven months, they’ve served 16 cities — with Hartford, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Providence, Rhode Island being the only Northeast destinations — but on Monday, Breeze announced that their route map is expanding and, starting next month, they will finally offer service out of Islip, Long Island’s MacArthur Airport (ISP) and Florida’s Palm Beach International (PBI).
Per a report from The Point Guy, service out of Islip — the subject of extensive speculation as it’s also the location of the airline’s first maintenance base — will officially begin on February 17, with four weekly flights to Norfolk, Virginia (ORF). The following day, twice-weekly flights to Charleston, South Carolina (CHS), will begin.
Elsewhere, according to an announcement by the airline, West Palm Beach will now service Akron/Canton, Ohio (CAK), Columbus, Ohio (CMH), Charleston, New Orleans (MSY), Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia (RIC), though only with one round-trip flight a week at launch. Fares are set to start at just $39.
“Breeze’s business model is to add ‘nice, new nonstop’ flights on routes where only connecting service is offered by other carriers,” Neeleman said in a statement.
It’s the most likely reason for Breeze coming to MacArthur. According to report from Insider, because they offer more alternatives to major airlines and, more importantly, more non-stop options, small airports like MacArthur and New Haven have emerged victorious in what has been called “the startup airline war of 2021.” That said, perhaps due to its proximity to JFK, LaGuardia and Newark, MacArthur has historically remained a bit of a puzzler for budget airlines. Spirit Airlines cut its service from ISP off back in 2008 and later, in 2014, Allegiant followed suit. But Neeleman isn’t perturbed.
“It’s just priorities,” he told The Points Guy of Breeze’s enduring plan to expand out onto Long Island. “What was up at the top of the list and what fit into the routes.”
Furthermore, the airline has also reportedly put in an order for 80 new Airbus A220-300 aircrafts, which are designed for longer routes, pointing to the addition of more soon. So if you consider yourself among the Jetblue stan army but you still mess with a budget airline on occasion? Buckle up, because Breeze may soon be coming to an airport near you.
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