“When you start from scratch like this you can do things that no one has been able to do, and I know Breeze can do this so much better than everyone else."
Every graphic was (re)created by me
David Neeleman, founder of Morris Air (later integrated into Southwest), WestJet, JetBlue, and Azul, is about to start with his newest and arguably most interesting start-up. Breeze Airways, formerly branded under the name of Moxy, will serve un(der)served routes in the US, but also plans to go international.
Breeze Airways is going to be a low-cost carrier, just like many others in the US already are (Allegiant, Spirit, Southwest, …). So what is going to set them apart from all the others?
One important factor is their so-called “super app” which allows their customers to do everything they need for their flight within the app. While this seems quite normal the app will also offer services for when you arrive, like rental car services, the booking of hotel rooms, and so on.
As mentioned above, the airline will serve many unsaturated or even unserved routes and markets. According to simpleflying.com, 80% of the airlines’ initial routes will be without any competitor. While this seems weird at first glance, this also has a reason. Many of the routes Breeze will initially serve are connections with very low demand, hence no other airline with bigger aircraft could serve those markets profitably, or follows the business model of being a hub airline, and connecting most of its flights through one of the the the their hubs.
Breeze will create direct and faster flights by building up a net of low-demand routes, that will shine when it comes to being non-stop rather than with an extra leg via a connection hub by a major airline.
In order to serve those routes, the airline plans to acquire up to 120 A220-300’s build in Mobile, Alabama. Following the current plan, the airline will receive 1 per month for the next 10 years, starting October of this year, even though, this rate will most likely ramp up over time, given the success of the start-up. For building its core routes up in the beginning and to start earlier, the airline will use E190s, 4 of which they already leased. At the end of 2021, Breeze wants to operate 15 of this type. Those, however, will be phased out relatively soon, making space for the more modern, efficient, and comfortable aircraft, the A220.
In a flightglobal.com interview, David Neeleman showed his excitement for this type. Besides, being able to operate regional routes the E190s will have build-up, the aircraft opens up a new spectrum of routes thanks to its “7 hours of range”. This range is partly available thanks to him, as he partnered up with Airbus to fit his A220-300s with auxiliary fuel tanks.
Routes Neeleman has already in his sight to operate in the future, which also includes “long-hauls”. According to him, “that means we can go from the northeast US into Europe, and Florida into South America. We can go into Hawaii from anywhere west of Kansas. We can do things no other plane [in that market segment] can do.” In interviews he gave a while ago, he confirmed plans to operate flights from Florida to Brazil but also eyed flights to Europe, similar to what JetBlue is about to do. For those kinds of flights, he highlighted the ability of the aircraft “being able to quickly reconfigure the aircraft cabin to include, someday, a luxury first-class cabin with lie-flat seats.”
When serving smaller airports, airlines are often limited to shorter routes because of runway length limitations. This problem was significantly diminished by the A220, making the A220-100, even though not the model Breeze will use, takeoff and land at London City Airport. This gives a good general idea, of how short the runway for an A220 can be at MTOW.
All this is why the airline chose the A220 to be the long-term workhorse for the airline. "We can’t fly an E195 for three and a half hours and make money doing that. But we can fly an A220 for six or seven hours and make money doing that,” he said.
At the moment, Breeze has 150 employees but looks to increase this number significantly in a short amount of time, following the fleet growth accordingly. In order to do so, Breeze partnered up with local universities, from which they’ll get young staff and will allow them to start into the work-life without student debt.
After all, Breeze seems like a very promising airline with a very unique and interesting business model. The fast rate of vaccinations and market recovery in the US further play into the hands of Breeze and its CEO David Neeleman, who seems to be close to starting another major airline, making it 5 in total.
Thanks for reading
Maximilian
