Today, Breeze Airways formally launched operations at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, or MSY, with the arrival of a Breeze flight from Huntsville, Alabama. Breeze Airways CEO David Neeleman joined with GNO, Inc., state, and local officials to celebrate the new service in Greater New Orleans. In May, Breeze Airways announced the development of an operations base at MSY, with a capital investment of $6.6 million and the creation of 261 new direct jobs, with an average salary of $65,000, plus benefits. The airport, GNO, Inc., and partners have been working for two years to bring Breeze to MSY.
Breeze’s formal launch of service marks the start of flights connecting New Orleans with Huntsville; Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Akron/Canton, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; and Bentonville/Fayetteville, Arkansas. Service between New Orleans and Columbus, Ohio, begins July 16.
Breeze is the fifth airline founded by Neeleman, who is perhaps best known for JetBlue, and most recently started Azul, based in Brazil. Breeze describes itself as “…a team of aviation, hospitality and technology enthusiasts who believe flying is the greatest privilege and opportunity in the world. And, we believe it should be an accessible and genuinely nice experience for everyone. Together, we created Breeze Airways™ - a new airline merging technology with kindness. Breeze provides nonstop service between underserved routes across the U.S. at affordable fares. With seamless booking, no change or cancellation fees and customized flight features delivered via a sleek and simple app, Breeze makes it easy to buy and easy to fly. Welcome to Breeze, Seriously Nice™ flights and fares.”
