Travelers soon will have 2 more nonstop flight options from RDU to the Caribbean
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- Breeze Airways will add RDU nonstop flights to Jamaica and Dominican Republic.
- RDU crew base enables Breeze to expand international service with daily returns.
- Breeze now operates more nonstop routes from RDU than any other carrier in 2025.
Breeze Airways will fly nonstop from the Triangle to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, starting in March, the airline announced Thursday.
They will be Breeze’s first international flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The low-cost airline began flying in the spring of 2021 as a strictly domestic carrier but will begin international service from RDU and five other airports in the coming months.
Breeze will fly to the Dominican Republic on Wednesdays and Saturdays starting March 4. The Jamaica flights begin March 5 and will operate Thursdays and Sundays. Breeze will use Airbus A220-300 aircraft that seat 137 passengers.
Breeze typically operates its routes year-round but initially plans to pause the Caribbean flights during the height of hurricane season when demand usually lags, said Lukas Johnson, the airline’s chief commercial office.
“Typically the fall periods are a really low season for the Caribbean,” Johnson said in an interview. “So we’ll call it seasonal, but it does have the potential to go year round if guests support it.”
Breeze also often flies to places no other airline does, but in the case of the Dominican Republic and Jamaica it will have competition at RDU. Another low-cost carrier, Avelo Airlines, flies to Punta Cana from RDU already, and American Airlines says it plans to start that route in December.
Avelo also flies to Montego Bay from RDU, though it will suspend those flights in January. It expects to bring them back sometime next summer, according to a company spokesperson.
Airline will base pilots and crew at RDU
Breeze is able to start international flights from RDU because the airline is establishing a crew base at the airport, with more than 200 pilots and flight crew. Having a crew start and end their day at RDU makes it easier to operate longer routes, Johnson said.
”So for things like Caribbean service, a Raleigh-based crew can fly there in the morning and come back in the afternoon,” he said. “So all in one day.”
All of Breeze’s initial international flights are to either Mexico or the Caribbean. The airline would need a different certification to fly to Europe, Johnson said.
Where else does Breeze fly from RDU?
Breeze now flies nonstop to 32 places from RDU, more than any other airline. They range from Los Angeles to tiny Ogdensburg, New York, on the Canadian border. The carrier has served nearly twice as many RDU passengers so far this year than at the same point last year.
Breeze’s growth has helped give Triangle travelers more nonstop options than ever. Airlines now offer flights to a record 82 nonstop destinations from RDU. Those include 15 international cities, after Aer Lingus announced last week that it will begin flying between RDU and Dublin, Ireland, next spring.
Michael Landguth, RDU’s president and CEO, said the Breeze crew base and international flights are welcome news.
“Breeze Airways is steadily growing its presence at RDU, demonstrating a strong commitment to the Raleigh-Durham region,” Landguth said in a written statement. “We are thrilled to see Breeze deepen its investment by creating jobs in our community and adding international flights to its route map.”
