Английская Википедия:Breeze Airways

Содержание

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Breeze Airways, legally Breeze Aviation Group, Inc., is an American low-cost airline headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. The airline was founded by David Neeleman, who previously co-founded Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue, and Azul Linhas Aereas. Breeze's operations launched on May 27, 2021, with its inaugural flight from Tampa International Airport to Charleston International Airport.

History

In June 2018, Neeleman planned to launch a new American airline, tentatively named "Moxy Airways," with capital from former Air Canada CEO Robert Milton, former ILFC CEO Henri Courpron, former JetBlue board chairman Michael Lazarus, and himself. They noted that following the US consolidation of airlines, all 11 major carriers in the country were profitable; had all existed at least 20 years (except JetBlue, which Neeleman had co-founded in 2000); and there was an opportunity for a competitive carrier. They also noted that the country's four largest airlines carried 80% of domestic US passengers in 2017, and that due to the loss of service to smaller markets, US domestic air capacity had remained stagnant from 2007 to 2017, while the economy had expanded by 34%.

The airline planned to offer point-to-point flights from smaller, secondary airports such as Norfolk International Airport, Westchester County Airport, or Providence's then-named T. F. Green Airport, bypassing larger airline hubs for shorter travel times. The airline reportedly considered longer flights to South America and Europe. It would offer spacious seats and free Wi-Fi, like Azul and JetBlue, but charge fees for snacks and advance seat assignments, like ultra low-cost carriers Allegiant Air or Spirit Airlines. For its launch of operations, the company ordered 60 Bombardier CS300s (later known as the Airbus A220-300), soliciting Chinese lessors to finance 18 aircraft, to be delivered starting in 2021. To accelerate the airline's launch to 2020, the company initially planned to use secondhand Embraer 195 aircraft from Azul.

On February 7, 2020, the airline's name was announced as Breeze Airways, abandoning the "Moxy" name, as it created ambiguity with Marriott's "Moxy Hotels" trademark. The airline's branding, logo, colors and livery were developed by Brazilian airline marketing specialist, Gianfranco "Panda" Beting, Azul's co-founder and creator of Azul's branding, as well as that for TAP Air Portugal and Transbrasil. Neeleman proposed the tagline, the "World's Nicest Airline". On February 20, 2020, the airline established its headquarters in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.

Breeze had projected operations launch in 2020 through the acquisition of Compass Airlines, subsequently cancelling that acquisition and pushing its launch to 2021. Additionally, the airline planned to introduce Embraer 190 and 195 aircraft to launch short-haul, regional services prior to the induction of the Airbus A220-300 for longer flights. On March 10, 2021, the airline received federal approval from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to begin operations, and was later issued its air operator's certificate on May 14, 2021. The following week, Breeze began selling tickets on May 21, 2021, with flights planned to start on May 27, 2021. In the initial years following launch, the airline's network expanded consisting of several domestic short-haul and transcontinental routes within the United States, as well as charter operations. During 2023, the airline began processes to operate international flights, with an application to the USDOT in May 2023 to operate flights to Mexico, followed by Neeleman in November 2023 stating the airline's intention to operate flights to Europe.

Destinations

Шаблон:Main Breeze operates a network consisting of domestic routes within the United States.

Fleet

Файл:N203bz.jpg

Breeze Airways Airbus A220-300

Файл:Breeze017a25201.jpg

Breeze Airways Embraer 195

Шаблон:As of, Breeze Airways operates the following aircraft:

Breeze Airways fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers					Notes
			F	Y+	Y	Total	Ref
Airbus A220-300	20	60	36	10	80	126		To be reconfigured to 137 seats.
			12	45	80	137
Embraer 190	10	—	—	48	60	108		Former Air Canada aircraft.
Embraer 195	6	—	—	22	96	118		Former Azul and Air Europa Express aircraft.
			—	24	100	124
Total	36	60

Fleet development

On July 17, 2018, the airline signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 60 A220-300 aircraft to be delivered from 2021, with the order firmed in January 2019. The order included options for 60 additional A220s. Following the airline's revised plans to launch operations before the delivery of its A220 aircraft, Breeze agreed to sublease up to 30 Embraer 195s from Azul in order to serve short-haul routes, although the total number received was dependent on LOT Polish Airlines exercising its lease options. The airline additionally agreed to lease up to fifteen Embraer 190s from Nordic Aviation Capital. The airline received its first Embraer 195 on December 30, 2020, and later its first Embraer 190 in February 2021.

On April 26, 2021, it was announced that Breeze had ordered an additional 20 A220-300 aircraft, bringing its total orders up to 80 aircraft of the type, although Airbus listed the order under an undisclosed customer. Breeze itself did not announce the order until September 13, 2021, when it was also announced that the order was the result of exercising purchase options. The airline's first Airbus A220-300 was delivered on October 26, 2021, with the aircraft entering service on May 25, 2022.

Cabin and service

Services

Breeze had proposed intentions to offer both a low-cost and a first-class product, in contrast to the traditional all-economy business model of most low-cost carriers (LCCs). Proposals included some common LCC features such as a point-to-point route network, extra fees for additional services, and initially a single aircraft type, but the airline did not intend to operate only a single cabin class of service. Additionally, its aircraft would not feature seatback screens for its in-flight entertainment, instead opting to offer streaming of entertainment through personal electronic devices.

In August 2021, Breeze announced plans for a no-frills "Nice" ticket, and a "Nicer" ticket type offering food, extra legroom and other amenity upgrades, along with free itinerary changes for all tickets. In October 2021, Breeze announced a "Nicest" ticket type to coincide with the launch of its Airbus A220-300 service in 2022. In March 2022, Breeze announced plans to offer inflight Viasat Wi-Fi internet access from October 2022, later delayed to 2023.

Seating

Breeze's first class seating, referred to as Breeze Ascent, is only available on its Airbus A220 aircraft, the seats of which are configured in a 2–2 layout. The airline's economy class seating consists of both Extra Legroom and Standard seats, the seats of which are configured in a 2–3 layout on the A220, and a 2–2 layout on the Embraer 190 and 195 aircraft.

In 2022, the airline announced an alternative seating configuration for its A220s depending on route or seasonal demand, with fewer First Class seats and additional Extra Legroom seats, which later became the standard seating configuration for the entire A220 fleet.

Frequent-flyer program

BreezePoints are both the airline's frequent-flyer program as well as its travel credit system. The program is a revenue-based accrual system where passengers earn points based on cash amount spent, including base fare amounts and ancillary fees such as seat selection and baggage allowance fees. Points earned can also vary based on the ticket type purchased. Points can be redeemed toward payments made with the airline, and expire two years after originally issued.

Further reading

• Шаблон:Cite news
• Шаблон:Cite news
• Шаблон:Cite news
• Шаблон:Cite news

External links

• Шаблон:Official website