Breeze Airways has secured permission from the US Federal Aviation Administration to operate internationally and is targeting new leisure markets in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Jamaica.
Claiming to be the first US carrier to undergo the ”rigorous evaluation process” to secure full “flag” status as an international carrier in the past 10 years, Breeze said on 25 September that it is entering a new phase of its business plan.
Additionally, Utah-based Breeze will open a 200-worker crew base at Raleigh-Durham International airport in the first quarter of 2026 to support its international expansion.
Chief executive David Neeleman says Breeze flies the most destinations out of Raleigh Durham International of any airline, calling the airport a “natural fit” with the carrier’s strategy of targeting secondary, mid-sized metropolitan areas.
Breeze’s new international routes will begin with low frequencies of once or twice weekly.
The leisure carrier will launch once-weekly flights to Cancun from Charleston, New Orleans, Norfolk and Providence in January and February. Around the same time, Breeze will introduce a new route from Tampa to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Starting in March, Breeze will fly twice weekly from Raleigh to Montego Bay and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Notably, those last two routes will put Breeze in a head-to-head match-up with rival start-up Avelo Airlines, which currently maintains a base at Raleigh-Durham International and flies to cities in Mexico and the Caribbean.
Breeze has been pursuing international flight authority for several years, with the process taking longer than expected. In June 2024, Neeleman told FlightGlobal that Breeze would likely start flying to Mexico and the Caribbean last winter.
Company executives have also mused that the 3,800nm (6,110km) range of Breeze’s Airbus A220-300 aircraft could potentially reach near-European destinations such as England, Iceland and Ireland. But Hawaii appears to be a more likely medium-term target.
On the domestic front, Breeze has been taking advantage of a growth opportunity as several carriers cut capacity on the West Coast, with plans to launch flights to five new cities in California, Oregon and Washington early next year.
It also plans to establish a new base at Hollywood Burbank airport in north Los Angeles, seemingly filling a void as Avelo works to exit that market.
