Breeze Airways Reports Consistent Revenue Growth After Three Years Of Service

Aaron Karp September 26, 2024

breeze a220-300 — Credit: Wirestock, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo

U.S. carrier Breeze Airways, which passed its third anniversary in service in May, has seen “tremendous” revenue growth in 2024, according to Chief Commercial Officer Lukas Johnson.

In an interview with Aviation Week, Johnson said the airline has earned a monthly operating profit twice this year—Breeze previously reported it made its first monthly operating profit in March—and has consistently registered growth in unit revenue, as measured in revenue per available seat mile (RASM).

Breeze, established by JetBlue Airways and Brazilian operator Azul founder David Neeleman, is not publicly traded and not required to release financial figures. But management has recently started providing a glimpse to the public.

“We've made huge gains this year,” Johnson said. “We don't really disclose on a monthly basis, but every single month this year has shown tremendous [year-over-year] growth in unit revenue.”

Breeze earlier this year said it had increased unit revenue by more than 30% year-over-year in the first quarter.

“Our yields have increased significantly just through the maturity” of markets in which the airline has established its presence over a period of time, enabling higher fares, Johnson said.

Neeleman has said around 25% of Breeze’s traffic is repeat business in markets it has been in for at least six months.

Premium LCC

Breeze is positioning itself as a premium LCC with an emphasis on leisure traffic. More than 80% of its routes are non-competitive, as it focuses on connecting smaller destinations to each other and to larger markets. The latest addition to its network is Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), marking the carrier’s entry into the D.C. area.

Breeze is operating its first U.S. government-subsidized Essential Air Service (EAS) route, connecting Dulles with Ogdensburg, New York, starting on a daily basis from Sept. 27. The airline will also operate from Dulles to its base in Provo, Utah (3X-weekly from Oct. 1), as well as to South Bend, Indiana (2X-weekly from Nov. 8) and Vero Beach, Florida (2X-weekly from Nov. 21).

While Breeze views IAD as a “destination” market, it enters the United Airlines hub with “the view of serving the whole region,” Johnson said.

Given the carrier was already starting EAS service at IAD, it made sense to add more markets, he said. “We've got our Provo base, and then South Bend and Vero Beach don't have service to any of the D.C.-area airports.”

Breeze operates more than 200 total routes, connecting more than 60 U.S. airports.

The airline expects to have 32 Airbus A220-300 aircraft in its fleet by the end of 2024 and 90 by the end 2028. It will operate only A220-300s on scheduled service flights by next year, with its 10 Embraer 190s to be dedicated to charter flights.

Breeze configures its A220-300s with 137 seats, including 12 premium seats with 39-in. pitch.

“Most of our [passengers] are comparing the experience to a regional jet, and then they get onboard [the A220] and they're blown away,” Johnson said. “It's a brand-new, larger jet. The feedback has been awesome.”

In addition to IAD, Breeze is also serving U.S. major hubs Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newark and Phoenix.

“We treat them as destinations,” Johnson said, noting Breeze largely is staying away from serving routes American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are operating from their hubs. “We’re typically taking people from smaller, underserved cities to those destinations.”