By Zach Cooke
This past week, Utah-based carrier Breeze Airways announced a continuation of its expansion to Florida, in addition to launching service to a new state. Breeze also announced two new flights, one of which will be of benefit to those traveling from Canada along with those residing in the Northern New York area.
Situated in the center of Illinois, Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport has just two carriers currently operating out of the airport, Allegiant and American. The city has an essential air service (EAS) route to Chicago O’Hare operated by American Eagle twice daily utilizing CRJ-200 aircraft. Allegiant operates a twice-weekly route to Punta Gorda, Fla. Breeze will become the third carrier to operate out of the airport this December, bringing the airport to three destinations in Florida and four total.
Breeze will operate to Orlando and Tampa,Fla. twice weekly, utilizing Airbus A220-300s. Beginning Dec. 8, the carrier will operate to Orlando on Fridays and Mondays. Service to Tampa will begin Dec. 4 and will operate on Fridays and Mondays as well. Tom Doxey, President of Breeze, believes this new service fits perfectly into the carrier’s ideals and said, “Breeze is all about adding service to underserved markets and city pairs, and we can’t wait to give the community of Springfield some new destinations with Breeze’s added convenience, affordability, and flexibility.”
In addition to the most recent announcement of service to Springfield, the carrier will also inaugurate service to Plattsburgh, New York from Orlando on Nov. 28 and will operate three times weekly. Situated on the United States-Canadian border, Plattsburgh is an airport that sees a lot of travelers traversing from Quebec by road to fly out. Breeze plans to give those looking to escape the cold Canadian winter the opportunity to easily travel to sunny Florida with the carrier’s President stating “[W]e’re excited to welcome new snowbird Guests from Montreal soon”.
In addition to operating flights to northern N.Y., the airline will add service to Portland, Maine. Flights will operate to Fort Myers seasonally twice weekly beginning Nov. 15. Both routes are slated to be operated by Airbus A220-300 aircraft.
While Breeze is headquartered in Utah, the carrier has been making a name for itself in Florida. Through the end of the year, Breeze will inaugurate 21 new routes to and from Florida continuing aggressive expansion. In 2022, the carrier’s Florida operation consisted of 492 flights between 21 city pairs.
This year, Breeze significantly boosted operations out of the Sunshine State increasing service by 185 percent and operating 1,402 flights between 51 city pairs. The airline recently took delivery of the 50th Airbus A220 to roll off the assembly line in the United States bringing the carrier to have 16 of the type and boasting a fleet of 34 aircraft.
