Bachelorette party in Nashville? Beach getaway to Tampa? Weekend romp through New Orleans? Breeze Airways can make it happen for less than $100, as long as you fly out of Akron-Canton Airport.
First launched in 2021 in the midst of the worst aviation downturn since World War II, the Salt Lake City-based Breeze Airways is ramping up operations across the country this summer, including at Akron-Canton Airport.
Breeze now offers a total of six nonstop routes with the addition of flights to Nashville, Tennessee, and Hartford, Connecticut. The carrier already flies to Charleston, South Carolina; Tampa and West Palm Beach, Florida; and seasonally to New Orleans.
And airport officials are hoping that’s just the start.
“From identifying second-home locations to understanding corporate ties between our community and others, we find the city pairs that make sense for both airline and community,” says Lisa Dalpiaz, vice president of marketing and air service development for Akron-Canton Airport.
The new Nashville route, for example, will see its fair share of revelers, but it will also connect companies like Bridgestone/Firestone to their corporate headquarters when business travel starts to pick up again.
Breeze is still focused on growing the number of domestic flights between underserved cities at an affordable price but is considering longer-haul flights to the Caribbean, Mexico and even Western Europe when the time is right.
Along with its fleet of small-body Embraer jets, the airline has ordered 80 Airbus A220-300 aircrafts that can accommodate more passengers and fly farther with superior fuel efficiency.
But in the short term, Dalpiaz would like to see longer transcontinental routes take off, whether it’s on Breeze or one of its other carriers, such as Spirit and Allegiant.
“We would love to go out West,” says Dalpiaz. “Currently, Chicago is our only gateway to the West, but we know there is demand for various cities in Texas, California and Arizona. And while we have a great number of routes to Florida, there’s still room for growth there.”
Breeze in Brief
• Breeze Airways is the brainchild of aviation entrepreneur David Neeleman, the founder of four other low-cost airlines, including JetBlue.
• Breeze’s summer expansion will mean a total of 77 routes in 28 cities.
• Breeze provides air service between underserved secondary airports, saving fliers time and money by bypassing hubs.
