Breeze Airways, a fast-growing discount carrier with upscale in-flight options, will join the roster of lower-cost air carriers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in November with new service to Ohio and North Carolina, the company announced Wednesday.
The airline will start flying between the Broward County airport and Akron-Canton, Ohio, on Nov. 5 with one-way fares starting at $59. Service will be nonstop on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with “BreezeThru” one-stop, no change-of-plane service on Mondays and Fridays.
Service to Wilmington, N.C., will start Nov. 7 with flights on Mondays and Fridays at a $39 one-way starting fare..
Fares charged by Breeze are along the a la carte model used by several low-cost operators. The price grid starts with a “No Flex” fare, where passengers buy a ticket that gives them the right to carry on a small bag that fits under a seat. There are charges for everything else, ranging from seat assignments to snacks and drinks and a bag for the overhead bin.
From “No Flex,” the menu includes bundles of paid add-ons under the monikers, “Nice,” “Nicer” and “Nicest.”
Florida growth
Fort Lauderdale will be the 10th Florida city for the airline, which was founded in 2021, serves 72 U.S. cities, and operates a fleet of nearly 60 Airbus and Embraer jet aircraft. Breeze focuses mainly on smaller cities that are not served by bigger air carriers.
But in Florida, the airline currently serves Palm Beach International Airport, Orlando International Airport and seven other cities, competing for a slice of the heavily contested leisure business generated by 142.9 million tourists who visited the Sunshine State last year. CEO and founder David Neeleman said he sees opportunity in Fort Lauderdale.
“Fort Lauderdale is an amazing, popular destination,” he said in a statement. “And it will make a great addition to our Florida service as we continue to grow warm weather opportunities ahead of this year’s winter travel season.”
He said the airline added 29 new cities and 88 routes to its network last year and has announced seven new cities and 40 routes this year.
A welcome addition
The airline’s impending arrival in Broward is an uplifting development for the Broward County Aviation Department, which has seen its largest carrier, Dania Beach-based discounter Spirit Airlines, shrink in size after recently exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and regional carrier Silver Airways reduce operations while working through its own financial restructuring in bankruptcy court.
Breeze would be the airport’s 27th airline, according to a roster of U.S. and international carriers listed on its website.
“Wer’e very excited to welcome Breeze Airways to our airport’s diverse roster of air carriers with inaugural service to Akron, Ohio and Wilmington, N.C., starting in early November,” CEO/Director of Aviation Mark E. Gale said in a statement distributed by Breeze. “We’ve enjoyed long partnerships with other airlines founded by CEO David Neeleman and look forward to bright skies ahead with Breeze.”
The airline has yet to be assigned terminal space, a department spokesperson said.
Besides Spirit, Frontier Airlines and JetBlue Airways, lower-cost carriers at Fort Lauderdale include Avelo Airlines, which also focuses on underserved cities, and Flair Airlines, which is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. WestJet, another budget carrier based in Canada, has cut back on flights to the U.S. in the wake of the tariff warfare triggered by President Donald Trump.