Breeze Airways begins with the basics for inaugural
Starting an airline may not seem the best time in the midst of a crushing epidemic, but David Neilman's Breeze Airways has welcomed its first passengers just a few days after putting up flights for sale.
With focus cities in Tampa, Charleston, New Orleans and Norfolk, Breeze is starting to lay a wide net of "Rust Belt to Sun Belt" routes along the East Coast as well as other odd city pairs.
The plan is not just to offer cheap fares, Neilman says, but to fly the oddball routes passengers want to fly without time-consuming hub layovers, routes that large carriers may or may not operate Huh. Today's first flight aboard the Embraer E195 operated from Tampa to Charleston between its two focus cities.
It is clear from the outset that Breeze has invested a lot of time and effort into its customer-facing technology, as its digital touchpoints already meet or exceed the experience of other US-based airlines. Its iOS app is responsive, well-featured and handles flight bookings natively while other airlines such as JetBlue still rely on a frustratingly slow embedded browser window inside the app. It needs a bit of improvement, but has the bones of a great app experience.
Breeze also comes out swinging with participation in the TSA PreCheck program, something fellow startup Avello lacks. However, this is not exactly true, as it seems to lack Apple Wallet integration, so using mobile boarding passes is not as comfortable as many passengers may be using. The iOS app also requires an active Internet connection, to show even the most basic information, including saved trips or boarding passes.
While Breeze eventually intends to operate a fleet of factory new Airbus A220 aircraft, it is commencing service with the Embraer E190 / 195 aircraft used to sub-lease it to Azul, Brazil, by another Nilman airline. At this stage the experience can be described as almost public beta. There are basics to get passengers from A to B, but additional passenger experience facilities are still under development and will launch later down the road.
At the time of launch, Breeze is offering complimentary water and breakfast to all passengers, but it will later be offered only to passengers who book advanced "nicer" fares. Travelers who book base level "Nice" fares will eventually get access to additional options when Breeze launches an enhanced buy-on-board offering at some point in the future. The first flight options were a small KIND bar or a bag of UTZ potato chips.
The Breeze E195 interior can be described as surprisingly silent given the airline's colorful dress and overall branding. The refurbished seats from nose to tail are completely beige and do not have any color accent.
The Nikker section has a slightly higher pitch than the regular Nice seats, which themselves offer a substantial amount of pitch. Like all large Embraer e-jets, the seats are wide and there are no middle seats. Breeze plans to introduce a business class style recliner seat product, when its Airbus A220s will be delivered later in 2021.
The indication that the aircraft has already seen the better part of a decade in service in a hot climate with Azul is evident, with many rubberized surfaces such as air gassers and armrests already starting to be viscous to the touch which I think That is the beginning of the phase of rubber alternation. The interior is functional and comfortable but nothing special.
Like Neilman's JetBlue for a short time in 2000, Breeze is starting flights without an IFE system ready to go.
The airline says it intends to bring a streaming solution to its E190 / 195 fleet with free movies and television shows, but today's inaugural flights only offered entertainment provided by the crew and other passengers.
Anuvu, formerly Global Eagle, will provide wireless IFE to Breeze through its AirConnect IFE Pro product.
There is no power outlet available for passengers, nor is there any inflight Internet access planned for the E190 / 195s at this time.
All things considered, Breeze brings a strong value proposition for travelers with a fairly basic experience that will evolve over time.
If the airline can manage to stick to its schedule and deliver on the promise of efficiently bringing passengers from A to B without stopping at C, then there could be a bright future ahead.