The new discount airline is not yet offering any service to Beehive State, but the company is recruiting flight attendants and technicians.
(Breeze Airways) Utah-based low-cost airline Breeze Airways is founder David Neeleman’s fifth airline and will officially begin flying this month. Neeleman also founded the US airline JetBlue, as well as Morris Air from Utah (later sold to Southwest), Azul from Brazil and WestJet from Canada.
Utah’s newest airline has officially been cleared for launch, but – at least for now – doesn’t offer any destinations in the west.
The first Cottonwood Heights-based Breeze Airways travel network, unveiled on Friday, includes 39 non-stop routes to 16 cities, mainly in the east and southeast.
Most flights are concentrated in four hubs: Tampa, Florida; Charleston, SC; New Orleans; and Norfolk, Va. Breeze’s first flights will begin carrying passengers on May 27th.
Breeze is the fifth airline to be launched by Utah-born David Neeleman who also founded Morris Air (acquired by Southwest Airlines in 1993), JetBlue Airways, Azul Airlines in Brazil and WestJet in Canada.
Neeleman said in an interview that at some point Breeze will offer flights to and from Utah, possibly from smaller regional airports such as Ogden-Hinckley, Provo or St. George.
“We’ll probably be flying out of Utah somewhere next year,” Neeleman said. “There are so many options in the east right now. This is where we start, but no doubt we will get to Utah at some point. “
The US Department of Transportation approved the new airline in March to take up flights with up to 22 aircraft.
Breeze focuses on underserved markets coupled with affordable fares and smaller aircraft to drive costs down. Introductory one-way pricing starts at $ 39, with no change or cancellation fees.
Travelers can make changes up to 15 minutes before a flight is scheduled to depart. The airline will credit a customer’s account for up to 24 months from these changes or cancellations.
The airline’s base fares include a personal item such as a backpack or wallet. Carry-on and checked baggage is a flat rate of $ 20 for each item, up to three pieces of baggage. Travelers can also pay extra for extra legroom, seat assignments, priority boarding, snacks, and drinks.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and its chilling effect on travel last year, Neeleman said it was a “great” time to open Breeze up to business, especially after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started to relax the restrictions on vaccinated people. (However, masks are still required on airplanes and airports.)
“There’s a lot of pent-up demand,” Neeleman said. “If you are vaccinated, you can go.”
(Courtesy of Breeze Airways) Utah-based Breeze Airways has unveiled its travel network and will begin serving its first commercial passengers this month. While the airline’s routes mostly serve the east and southeast, the founder expects to add flights to Utah in the next year or two.
While Breeze’s fleet won’t be serving Utah from the start, the airline brings other benefits to the state. Neeleman expects to employ “hundreds” of people, including home service jobs, technology teams and operations staff.
“We’ll get by the thousands over time,” Neeleman said.
In December 2020, Breeze announced a partnership with Orem’s Utah Valley University for a flight attendant training program. UVU students can work as flight attendants and receive a salary, along with perks like reimbursement of tuition fees, free housing, and a monthly trip home to visit family.
“You can live in some cool places, have a great experience while going to school,” Neeleman said, “and graduate with no debt.”
He added that he would like to partner with flight attendants more schools in Utah. The ability to recruit talent as well as the technology sector in Utah is one of the reasons Neeleman chose to build Utah Breeze’s headquarters to operate.
“If you take the technology out of the whole process of operating the airlines,” Neeleman noted, “the booking process for the customer, the operations side, everything,” an airline cannot work.
For more information on the airline and to book flights, visit flybreeze.com. For more information on jobs at the company, visit jobs.flybreeze.com.
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