Breeze Airways Starts Offering $39 Fares, Isn't Publicly Traded

Breeze Airways, a new discount airline that launched its flight reservations on May 21, is the fifth airline founded by David Neeleman. The company plans to offer flights from 16 underserved cities or regions of the U.S.

The company’s first flights available will start on May 27 for routes from Charleston, S.C., to Tampa, Fla., and Hartford, Conn. The flights out of Louisville, Ky. will start on May 28. Other cities will start offering services in June and beyond.

Breeze Airways is launching about a month after Avelo Airlines debuted from the Hollywood Burbank Airport in April. Avelo started by offering one-way flights at prices as low as $19.

These new and smaller airlines are hoping for a piece of consumers’ renewed interest in traveling. The ability to travel is returning as COVID-19 restrictions become more relaxed and more people receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Breeze Airways will provide flight options for underserved areas of the U.S. So far, 16 airports will have Breeze Airways flights, many in the southeastern U.S.

These are the initial Breeze Airways cities of operation, in order of when the service will begin:

• Tampa, Fla.

• Charleston, S.C. 

• Hartford, Conn. 

• Louisville, Ky. 

• Tulsa, Okla.

• Norfolk, Va. 

• Fayetteville, Ark. 

• Akron/Canton, Ohio

• Oklahoma City, Okla.

• Columbus, Ohio

• New Orleans, La. 

• Pittsburgh, Pa. 

• Richmond, Va.

• San Antonio, Tex. 

• Huntsville, Ala.

• Providence, R.I.

Breeze Airways is another startup airline offering very low-cost flights within the U.S. The company is pricing one-way tickets as low as $39 apiece.

Travelers will need to consider other factors into the cost of flying. Breeze Airways says that it won’t charge any fees to change or cancel flight reservations. Its cancellation policy is that you receive a full refund to the original payment form if you cancel within 24 hours of booking and at least seven days prior to departure.

Cancellation under other circumstances won't be refunded in cash, but in BreezePoints. The points are redeemable for equivalent future travel within 24 months. 

CNBC reported that Breeze will charge a $20 baggage fee. Overweight or oversized baggage is also subject to additional fees ($50 for oversize pieces and $20 or $50 for overweight pieces).

The competition for business might be tough. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby stated in a Bloomberg Live event that United won’t ease up to benefit the fledgling airline, according to The Wall Street Journal. He noted that in previous air travel downturns, “big airlines would push back from the table and leave the scraps for all the startups,” but United won't be doing that.

Neeleman is the founder of Breeze Airways. He has also founded four other airlines. Azul, JetBlue, Westjet, and Morris Air are Neeleman’s other airline endeavors. Neeleman hoped to launch Breeze Airways in 2020, but the plans got delayed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neeleman provided $17 million of Breeze’s funding, which was added to $83 million from other investors. Breeze Airways is a privately held company. 

Other executives at Breeze have prior airline experience with companies like JetBlue, Boeing, Azul, Allegiant, Delta, and US Airways.