Breeze Airways, the U.S. airline founded by David Neeleman in 2021, reported a sizable rise in annual revenue in 2024 and its first quarterly operating profit.
The Salt Lake City-based carrier, which is not publicly traded, has provided the most detailed picture of its finances to date. Breeze generated $680 million in revenue in 2024, up 78% over 2023. In the fourth quarter, the airline generated $200 million in revenue and an operating margin of more than 4%, representing its first quarterly operating profit.
“Our goal for 2025 is certainly to have a full-year operating profit,” Chief Commercial Officer Lukas Johnson told Aviation Week following the release of Breeze’s 2024 financial results on Jan. 23.
Breeze has found its niche in the U.S. flying between smaller markets, as well as connecting smaller markets and major airports. Johnson said the airline is seeking to operate unserved routes, not airports of a particular size.
The carrier flies around 220 nonstop routes, 87% of which are noncompetitive. “It’s definitely about the routes that you’re serving,” Johnson said. “You may fly to LAX, but these are markets that don’t have service to LAX.”
Premium LCC
Breeze defines itself as a “premium leisure LCC.” The airline’s Airbus A220s are configured with 137 seats, including 12 up front with 39-in. pitch, 45 with 33-in. pitch and 80 with 30-in. pitch. Johnson said the carrier is seeing a lot of upgrading, particularly by returning passengers. “The second time somebody flies us, universally in all markets, they upgrade,” he said. “We do have a no-frills base fare ... and it’s very affordable. But we also allow you to purchase all the way up, kind of a choose your own adventure.”
He noted offering upgrades is a trend across the U.S. industry, with even traditional ULCCs such as Frontier Airlines unveiling premium options. “It’s no longer a ... service where 200 seats are all the same,” Johnson said. “People are different, and they want to choose.”
Breeze took delivery of 13 A220s in 2024, ending the year with 33 in its fleet. It also has 10 Embraer E190s and three E195s used for charter flights and to supplement the A220 fleet in scheduled service when needed.
The airline said its average A220 utilization was more than 10 hr. per day in 2024, up 4% year-over-year.
Breeze added service to 29 new destinations in 2024, increasing its network to 66 airports in the U.S. The carrier’s capacity as measured in available seat miles rose by 52% year-over-year.
The airline will not add “29 cities in 2025, but we are going to continue to grow and add a lot of connection options,” Johnson said. “We’ve launched all these airports, and [2025] is going to be a little bit more about growing connections between them or increasing frequencies.”
He added there are “thousands of [potential] routes without service ... and that doesn’t include international.”
The airline is anticipating opening scheduled international flights in 2025. “We haven’t announced destinations yet,” Johnson said, adding the routes will be “near international.”
“We’re not going to fly across one of the oceans yet,” he noted.
Neeleman, who also founded JetBlue Airways and Brazil’s Azul, said in a statement that Breeze is “establishing a robust presence in dozens of underserved markets across the U.S.”
While the airline did not release detailed cost information, Johnson said cost trend lines are moving in the right direction. “The great thing is [2024] costs didn’t grow nearly as much [as revenue],” he said. “Our revenue grew significantly, and our cost per available seat miles actually dropped year-over-year. Those are trend lines you really want to see as an airline, especially as a young airline.”
Johnson said Breeze expects revenue to continue increasing as the airline matures in markets and its brand becomes better known. “It’s not easy being a startup, but one of the benefits you have is that as you get more well known, your revenue grows,” he said.
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