Breeze Airways celebrated its first anniversary in Jacksonville by kicking off service Thursday from Jacksonville International Airport to Los Angeles.
Along with the the flight to Los Angeles International Airport, Breeze is offering new seasonal flights to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and Pittsburgh. Summer flights to Columbus, Ohio, and Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia, also will return for a second summer.
The domestic low-fare airline became the 10th and newest carrier to offer flights to and from Jacksonville with nonstop service to seven cities when it premiered in May of last year, just a year after it began nationwide.
Jacksonville Aviation Authority CEO Mark VanLoh called Breeze's arrival the largest single-service announcement in the airport's history when it came to Jacksonville.
“In just over a year, Breeze has grown tremendously at JAX,” VanLoh said in a news release Thursday. “Not only do they provide an opportunity for tourists to visit beautiful Northeast Florida, but our local travelers now have reasonably priced nonstop flights to some of our most-requested markets.”
Breeze Airways’ Founder and CEO David Neeleman said: “As Breeze approaches our second birthday on May 27, it’s incredible that we have grown to 14 destinations from Jacksonville in the past year since we started operations.”
Breeze markets itself as the "Seriously Nice Airline," with fare levels labeled Nice, Nicer and Nicest. The higher levels include perks like more leg room, a carry-on bag, a checked bag, and a snack and drink.
Neeleman also founded JetBlue Airways. He has said Breeze aims to serve underserved markets — "so you don’t have to drive long distances or fly through connecting hubs. With Breeze, we’ll get there twice as fast, for about half the price."
Breeze also is restarting summertime flights to New York-Islip; Providence, Rhode Island; Cincinnati; and Louisville, Kentucky.
The airline currently flies both short distance and transcontinental flights within the U.S. on a fleet of Embraer 190/195 and Airbus A220-300 aircraft. The carrier has ordered 80 more A220s, with options for an additional 40.
