This article has been updated.
San Antonio is among the destinations a new low-cost airline plans to debut in its network this summer.
Breeze Airways, the latest of six budget airlines providing air service in the U.S., on Friday announced its operations will include 39 nonstop routes between 16 cities in the Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and East. Its first flights take off from Charleston, South Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Hartford, Connecticut, starting May 27.
Breeze Airways’ flights into and out of the San Antonio International Airport launch July 15 with routes between San Antonio and Bentonville/Fayetteville, Arkansas; Oklahoma City, and Tulsa. Tickets went on sale Friday on the airline’s website.
San Antonio is the only city in Texas that Breeze included in its initial route map, and the nonstop routes are new for the city’s airport.
“I appreciate that Breeze Airways will connect to cities that typically fly where airlines don’t fly, which means just more opportunities to do business, visit family members, and receive visitors who may have never had the opportunity to visit us before,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
The Breeze rollout was stalled when the pandemic began in 2020. But passenger volumes at airports throughout the U.S. are returning to something closer to normal, with more than 1.4 million and 1.8 million people passing through airport security during the May 14-16 weekend.
Founded by aviation entrepreneur and former head of JetBlue David Neeleman, Breeze Airways aims to offer point-to-point flights from smaller secondary airports, bypassing hubs for shorter travel times.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Breeze will anchor most of its flights from airports in four cities: Tampa, Charleston, New Orleans, and Norfolk.
“A staggering 95 percent of Breeze routes currently have no airline serving them nonstop,” stated Neeleman, CEO of Breeze, which he funded with his own money and $100 million from outside investors, according to a Fortune article published in April.
That suits the goal of airport officials. “Our No. 1 focus is making certain that we continue to grow the markets that are underserved,” said Jesus Saenz, director of airports for the City of San Antonio. “Breeze is an airline that is wanting to offer that and they don’t want to just chase those three [cities]. You can look by their route maps of everywhere they’re going … and we’re excited to be part of that network.”
Breeze airfares start at $39 with no change or cancellation fees. Passengers can change or cancel a flight up to 15 minutes before scheduled departure and maintain an airfare credit up to two years.
The Breeze announcement comes just one month to the day that another low-cost carrier, JetBlue, said it would provide service between San Antonio and both Boston and New York City beginning this fall.
Other ultra-low-cost U.S. carriers serving San Antonio include Sun Country, Allegiant Air, and Frontier.
