In June 2018, David Neeleman planned a new United States Airline named Moxy as he registered a new entity with $100 million in capital from former Air Canada CEO Robert Milton, former ILFC CEO Henri Courpron and himself. Due to consolidation, all 11 major carriers are profitable and existed 20 years ago except JetBlue, which Neeleman started in 2000, leaving space for a new competitor. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines carried 80% of domestic US seats in 2017 and Alaska Airlines, Allegiant, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Hawaiian Airlines and Spirit Airlines made up most of the rest.
Due to loss of service to smaller markets, U.S. domestic air capacity remained stagnant from 2007 to 2017 while the economy expanded by 34%. To fill this gap, Breeze plans to offer point-to-point flights from smaller secondary airports like T.F. Green Airport (Providence), Fort Worth or Burbank Airport, bypassing hubs for shorter travel times. The airline is also reportedly considering longer distance flights to South America and Europe. It would offer spacious seats and free Wi-Fi, like Azul and JetBlue, but extra fees for snacks and advance seat assignments, like ultra low-cost carriers Allegiant Air or Spirit Airlines. To begin flying operations, 60 A220-300s (previously known as the Bombardier CS300) were ordered, soliciting Chinese lessors to finance 18 to be delivered from 2021 onward. However, in order to accelerate the airline’s launch, Moxy may utilize used Azul Embraer E195 and leased Airbus A320 aircraft as soon as 2020.
On February 7, 2020, it was announced that the airline had been officially named Breeze Airways. Prior to the official naming, the project that would become Breeze Airways was known as Moxy, colliding with Marriott’s Moxy Hotels trademark. All the airline’s branding, such as logo, colors and aircraft livery was developed by the Brazilian airline marketing specialist Gianfranco “Panda” Beting, Azul’s co-founder and responsible for creating the branding of Azul, TAP Air Portugal and Transbrasil. Breeze intends to operate a low cost carrier model, but to also offer a first class product. Aircraft will not feature seatback inflight entertainment, instead entertainment will be streamed through the airline’s app, which will also be used to purchase flights and upgrades.
As of February 2020, the Breeze Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft. Airbus A220-300 (60) and Embraer E195 (30) total fleet of 90 aircraft.(Wikipedia)
Breeze will offer point-to-point service between secondary airports, potentially including;
Austin–Bergstrom International Airport
Boston Logan International Airport
Fort Worth Meacham International Airport
Gary/Chicago International Airport
Hartford Bradley Airport
Hollywood Burbank Airport
Lehigh Valley International Airport
Jacksonville International Airport
Long Island’s Islip Airport and Farmingdale/Republic Airport
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
Oakland International Airport
Ontario International Airport
Orlando Sanford International Airport
Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport
Providence T.F. Green Airport
Scranton International Airport
Seattle-Tacoma Airport
St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport
Hawaii, Portugal and Brazil:
Neeleman claimed he’s not sure he would ever take the new airline public in terms of an initial public offering, citing the high investor interest in the enterprise. He said he doesn’t want to deal with private equity and venture capital investors. Instead, Neeleman said, he’d rather have the airline remain private, generate cash, and share that cash with the airline’s employees. It has always been Neeleman’s goal to, “bring back humanity to air travel.” This was the same goal for both his passengers and employees. His niche will be providing non-stop point to point service in cities that are underserved and in desperate need of air service. It will be a super high technology product once again reminiscent of Virgin America which was clearly eclipsed far too soon. VA was created by a fellow beloved aviation visionary genius from across the pond, Sir Richard Branson. Virgin America was loved by its immensely loyal customer base. Alaska bought the airline under false pretenses stating they would merge the unique culture into their own. That was not the case at all. Virgin America was a fierce competitor which was purchased only with the sole intention of having it dismantled and removed from the market place altogether.
His fleet will have a huge competitive edge since the A220 will be able to take off from short runways in smaller underserved airports with an aircraft capable of long haul international service. This also means that the airline could land at remote underserved international airports with shorter runways due to this new aircraft type. The airline would have a range to fly from the middle of the United States to Hawaii or Portugal and Florida to Brazil. This could be a global carrier right from the initial launch connecting three different continents with the United States, Europe, and South America. The new airline would be provided with an immediate established network and feed from his other projects, TAP Portugal and Azul Brazil.
Breeze wants to be known for being nice
Per FlyerTalk, David Neeleman branded Breeze as the “World’s Nicest Airline.” This stands out for a couple of reasons. For one, airlines are not really known as being “nice.” Nearly every passenger has a horror story about some particular airline. And, in the era of increasing ancillary fares and basic economy, nice is largely a word people associate with the past when it comes to flying. Breeze is trying to change that.
How will Breeze do this?
One of Neeleman’s previous startups is JetBlue. JetBlue is a well-renowned airline, especially amongst its passengers. The airline was the first in the United States to add doors in business class. With flight attendants who encourage passengers to take extra snacks and having inflight entertainment across its fleet, Neeleman’s former startup has embraced an airline model that caters to improving the passenger experience. Neeleman could continue to take a page out of JetBlue’s book and offer passengers an upgraded, modern passenger experience. While details about the interior configuration of the aircraft have not been finalized, Neeleman has thrown out some pretty interesting suggestions ranging from premium-heavy A220s to even ones with lie-flat seating (perhaps for a transatlantic crossing?)
How Breeze could be the “nicest” airline
Breeze will operate under a low-cost model. This will likely mean that the airline will charge ancillary fees. Naturally, this would be a way for the airline to compete on price in order to peel passengers away from existing airlines in the United States.
If Breeze really is able to pull off a customer-centric model that offers a superior onboard experience, this could go a long way in the airline taking a slice of the passenger market in the United States. What would really make Breeze stand out is a cabin crew training program that focuses specifically on the customer experience. (SimpleFlying)
Link: Breeze Airways Wikipedia
Link: Simple Flying
Link: Moxy Airlines / The Flight Times Blog
Link: CNN.com
Link: Airways Magazine Breeze Airways Launch
Link: Airways Magazine Neeleman Interview
Aviation Travel Writer: The Flight Times Blog
https://aviationtravelwriter.com
