JetBlue founder launches airline with fares starting at $39
David Neeleman, a serial aviation entrepreneur that was the man behind JetBlue Airways and Morris Air in the US, WestJet in Canada, and Azul Brazilian Airlines in Brazil, has launched his fifth airline - Breeze Airways with a focus on hub-skipping leisure flights.
Introductory fares for the airline range from $39 to $89 each way.
The airline took off on May 27 2021. All flights will be non-stop and the network will be made up of 39 routes between 16 cities in the Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and Eastern United States.
The low-rate airline is targeting smaller airports that Neeleman feels are currently underserved, with the company highlighting in a statement that it aims to merge “technology with kindness”.
How is it different?
Instead of using terms such as “economy” or “economy plus,” there are two fare classes: “Nice” and the higher priced “Nicer”, which comes with a few more inches of legroom, assigned seating, and a free checked bag, which otherwise costs $20 each for those flying on the lowest tariffs.
Breeze flaunts more legroom than some of the other bargain carriers in which the passengers are uncomfortably packed. The “nice” seat pitch is between 29 and 31 inches (depending on the plane); “nicer” is between 33 and 39 inches. All aircrafts will be a two-by-two seat formation, eliminating the dreaded middle seats.
Breeze has an amazingly flexible cancellation policy. Flights can be cancelled up to 15 minutes before a scheduled departure without charge, and the resulting flight credit will be usable for up to two years.
Future of Breeze Airways
Breeze has ordered 60 new Airbus A220 aircraft that will be delivered each month for five years, starting in October 2021, that will deliver the flagship product with facilities like Wi-Fi connectivity, spacious seats, plus a true business-class section upfront, dubbed “Nicest”.
Another way Neeleman said he will make Breeze nice is through its staff. He said he plans to hire college students as flight attendants. He envisions Breeze will institute a scholarship program to help the students pay their tuition fee, and once they graduate, they can pursue the career of their choice.
Neeleman has hinted he would like to expand Breeze well beyond the US, connecting points in the Midwest to Hawaii or the western edge of Europe, or from southern Florida to Brazil.
So far, Breeze Airways has lived up to its promise: “to get you there in half the time, at half the price.”
