Breeze Airways announces new nonstops from RDU, including two more exclusive routes
Breeze Airways announce flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to five new destinations on Tuesday, including the only nonstops to Memphis and Pensacola, Florida.
Breeze will also join fellow low-cost startup Avelo Airlines in flying between RDU and both Albany and Rochester, New York. The fifth new nonstop will be to Orlando, a route already served by Delta, Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest.
Breeze began flying in the spring of 2021 and made its RDU debut in February 2023, with nonstop flights to Hartford, New Orleans and Providence, Rhode Island. The airline now flies to two dozen cities from the Triangle, more than any other airline.
As with other low-cost carriers, Breeze does not fly its routes every day. Here’s what it plans for the five new ones:
▪ Pensacola, a summer seasonal flight, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, starting April 30.
▪ Memphis on Mondays and Fridays, starting May 9.
▪ Orlando on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, starting May 9.
▪ Rochester on Mondays and Fridays, starting May 9.
▪ Albany on Thursdays and Sundays, starting June 5.
Breeze also begins previously announced nonstop service to New Haven, Connecticut, twice a week starting Friday, Feb. 7.
Breeze has been one of the fastest-growing airlines at RDU. Last year, it handled nearly 344,000 passengers at the airport, more than twice as many as the year before. But with its less than daily schedule, it remains a relatively small player, accounting for about 2.2% of the passengers passing through the airport, according to RDU statistics.
Breeze is the fifth airline started by industry veteran David Neeleman since the 1980s. They include Morris Air, which was bought and absorbed by Southwest, as well as JetBlue, WestJet of Canada and Azul Brazilian Airlines.
Neeleman said he chose to launch Breeze when air travel was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic because industry consolidation had resulted in higher prices and fewer flights to many cities. Breeze seeks out what it considers under-served routes, and from RDU the carrier is the only one flying nonstop to a dozen cities, including Columbus and Akron in Ohio, Louisville and Burlington, Vermont.
Breeze says its strategy is working financially. Last month, it announced its first full quarter of operating profit.
