Breeze Airways, an airline less than 4 years old that began with three destinations out of the region, chose Southwest Florida International Airport as a new base of operations.
The plan will create dozens of jobs for the area and at least 26 flight destinations.
“A base means that we’re keeping aircraft here,” said Brian McCormick, Breeze’s director of airport properties and facilities. “Basing it overnight. With that comes the additional team that needs to be here to support that aircraft. We’re hiring in-flight crews and pilots. Those crews will be based out of Fort Myers.
“We are committed to this area for future growth. It’s going to be an important base for us.”
Eight of the 11 new destinations began this October, with a Breeze flight leaving the morning of Oct. 3 bound for Lansing, Michigan, the first flight of its kind in the airport and airline’s history.
“We’re here today of course because of Lansing, Michigan,” McCormick said. “Flying into [Capital Region International Airport] in Michigan, Michiganders will have a nonstop way to go from Lansing down to the beautiful area of Southwest Florida.”
Long Island-Islip and Stewart/Newburgh, New York; Manchester and Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania, Burlington, Vermont; and Bangor, Maine, are the other destinations beginning this month.
Flights to New Haven, Connecticut, are slated to begin Dec. 10, with South Bend, Indiana (Feb. 5, 2025) and Wilmington, North Carolina (Feb. 14, 2025), getting flights next year.
Flights start in the $65 to $79 range one way and go up depending on three tiers of extras, known as Nice, Nicer and Nicest.
Fort Myers ended up being a perfect fit for the relatively young airline, McCormick said.
“The first thing we do, is our niche is to go to underserved markets,” McCormick said. “A lot of those markets were abandoned. And folks withdrew direct service, leading them to hubs instead.
“We found a market to go to these places, from a popular airport like Southwest Florida, into locations that no one else is running that route. Ninety percent of Breeze routes, there’s no competition on that route. That’s one of our keys to success.”
Founded May 27, 2021, by CEO David Neeleman, Breeze has committed to buying a new A-220 aircraft each month for the next five years, McCormick said.
Neeleman founded Morris Air, JetBlue, WestJet and the Brazil-based Azul Linhas Aereas before starting Breeze, which is based in Salt Lake City.
The base of operations in Fort Myers will bring up to at least 100 jobs and perhaps more in the future.
“We’re here for a long, bright future in Fort Myers,” McCormick said. “We love the area, and we’re going to continue to grow. More exciting new destinations to come.”
