U.S. startup airline Breeze Airways plans first international flights

U.S. startup airline Breeze Airways is planning to fly internationally for the first time early next year, aiming to win over sun-seeking travelers as the carrier enters its fifth year of flying.

The airline’s host of seasonal service kicks off on Jan. 10 with a Saturday-only route between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cancun, Mexico, followed by roundtrips between Charleston, South Carolina, and Cancun on Jan. 17, also only on Saturdays.

Other routes include Saturday service to Cancun starting from New Orleans on Feb. 7 and from Providence, Rhode Island, a week later. In March, Breeze is also planning to start Thursday and Saturday service between Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina and Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Wednesday and Saturday service to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Flights from Tampa, Florida, to Montego Bay start on Feb. 11.

Breeze was launched by JetBlue‘s founder, David Neeleman, and debuted during the pandemic, in May 2021.

The carrier been working for years with the Federal Aviation Administration to win certification to fly internationally, Lukas Johnson, Breeze’s chief commercial officer, said in an interview.

It’s the first sizeable U.S. passenger airline to win that certification since Virgin America, which was acquired by Alaska Airlines in 2016, Johnson said.

He said Breeze is continuing its business model of flying its Airbus A220-300s between cities that have little to no competition from rivals and added that the new routes are “an exciting starting point for us.”

“We feel really confident that it’s going to be a guest response,” he said.

Fares for the new routes start as low as $99 one way, but Johnson said premium-class demand for its pricier, roomier seats has been strong and that there is a double-digit percentage of guests who book to a more expensive seat the second time they fly Breeze.