Breeze Airways, the newish airline founded by David Neeleman (previously founder of Morris Air, Azul, and JetBlue), announced a major expansion this week.
Breeze announced new service from Westchester County, just north of New York City. The relatively small airport is convenient for commuters who live in the suburbs north of New York City. While airlines have served the airport for years, the relatively small terminal, noise and capacity restrictions have limited its potential to grow into a true reliever airport for the three primary New York City airports. Most airlines fly to destinations up and down the east coast with a focus on providing routes that allow connections to hubs that enable passengers to connect to other cities.
First major route new announcement for the Airbus A220
Breeze is taking a different approach. Beginning this quarter, Breeze will introduce the Airbus A220 to compliment their existing fleet of EMB-190 jets. They will leverage the unique capabilities of the Airbus A220-300 to provide non-stop service from Westchester County to the west coast. Breeze will offer flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. They are also introducing service to Jacksonville, Savanah, New Orleans, Charleston, and Norfolk. Keeping with Breeze’s operational approach, not all destinations will be served daily.
The A220 offers the ability to takeoff on shorter runways, fly coast-to-coast, carry about the same amount of passengers as a Boeing 737-700 in a very modern cabin, all while sipping fuel with efficiency that rivals the larger MAX and NEO offerings by Boeing and Airbus respectively. The airport has significant noise, passenger volume, and operational restrictions. The A220’s noise profile, capacity, and range are a perfect fit for the airport.
