Back to June 2018the aviation world first heard of a possible new airline that would be partly founded by David Neeleman. Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue, Azul, WestJet and Morris Airways, has announced that he will form a new airline called Moxy Airways. Although the name was changed to “Breeze Airways” due to trademark issues, the “Moxy” (MXY) call sign remained. Breeze Air launched its inaugural flight from Tampa International Airport (TPA) to Charleston International Airport (CHS) on May 27, 2021.
Breeze aims to connect directly to smaller regional airports, announcing 39 routes earlier this month with prices starting at $39 one-way. By the end of the summer, Breeze will serve 16 destinations with 10 Embraer E190s and three E195s. Fares are simple and expected to rise. My one-way ticket to CHS was $49 (dropped to $39 in June) and I paid $30 to sit in a 2nd floor seat. There are three tiers of seats in the cabin. Pre-check-in seat assignment fees are $10, $20 and $30 depending on seat size and location. In addition to Embraer, Breeze also has 81 A220-300s on order. Breeze's A220s are expected to begin arriving in October 2021.
Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) is one of the 16 announced destinations. The Louisville Regional Airport Authority (LRAA) hosted a contest through its social media channels to award 10 people the chance to fly on the inaugural flight from SDF to CHS. So, on May 28, 2021, a group of aviation geeks and passengers came together to board Breeze Airways’ first flight from SDF to CHS, including myself (I was traveling on a ticket I purchased). Pre-flight events included remarks from LRAA Executive Director Dan Mann; Lukas Johnson, Chief Commercial Officer of Breeze Airlines; Jeffrey Taylor, Kentucky Business Development Commissioner; and Dale Boden, Chairman of the LRAA Board of Directors. Both Breeze and LRAA prepare gifts and necessary snacks for passengers.
After the flight was announced in the media, I purchased the ticket through the Breeze website; the process was simple and intuitive. Breeze adds 500 BreezePoints worth $5 To spend money with Breeze Airways, go to My Guest Account to download their mobile app. Checking in is just as easy using the app; but unfortunately, the app does not currently offer the ability to download your boarding pass to your mobile wallet. On top of that, those of us returning to the SDF seemed to have our electronic boarding passes lost. Some passengers must obtain a paper boarding pass for their return flight. There is usually a $3 fee to print a boarding pass or a $9 fee if a staff member assists you.
Because I purchased the ticket before setting up my Breeze Guest account; my boarding pass was missing TSA PreCheck. There was no way to call a Breeze customer service agent, so I utilized their agent through the text message process to add a pre-check to my pass. Breeze solved this problem perfectly and quickly. They corrected the spelling mismatch between my name and the TSA database, checked me in, added pre-check, and had me check-in again (using pre-check); all via text message. The whole process lasted about 20 minutes.
Our first SDF flight, MX150, carried an Embraer E195 with registration number N190BZ. This is a former Azul aircraft that Breeze used for all of its certification flights. Once on board, the interior looked and smelled brand new. People can expect improved lighting on arrival on the A220, as some passengers were disappointed by the lack of mood lighting on board. The Breeze staff were friendly and sometimes apologetic as they continued training during the launch.
Photo by Will Clark, NewsTalk 840, WHAS. Used with permission.
The captain and company safety officer both spoke after boarding the plane, expressing their gratitude for all of us being on board and that their months of training had finally culminated in flying revenue-generating passengers. The captain said there were times when they thought it wouldn't happen. During the time the safety officer sent the message, the employee asked for a photo of all of us with the breeze “check mark.” “Check mark” is to raise your index finger, extend your thumb 90° from the index finger, and tilt your hand so that it doesn't look like an “L” but like… a “check mark.”
The flight took off late, most likely due to concurrent training and difficulties in separating the tugboat from the aircraft. After pushing and positioning we sat for about ten minutes. I kept watching the fire trucks on the side of the plane. Finally, at 12:45 pm EST, Flight 150 took off to the sound of a water cannon salute, about 35 minutes late.
During their flight, they seemed to hit every target. They also sound like the other airlines, although I would have liked to hear some interesting information similar to Southwest's safety information. I observed that the staff did not push the kitchen cart down the aisle during beverage service. They put all their treats in baskets or in the drawers of the kitchen cart. Refreshments include a full-size bag of Utz crisps and a mini KIND bar with a small bottle of water. I felt this was very reasonable, especially considering the price I paid for the flight.
While CHS was boarding the return flight to the SDF, the flight experienced a brief maintenance delay. The captain did an excellent job keeping passengers informed. His information included the reason for our delay, what was being done, and how long we expected to wait. Another delay occurred after an F-16 was delayed due to a flight emergency. The CHS runway was closed for 25 minutes. What impressed me most was that the captain was standing in the main cabin briefing the passengers. He made eye contact with all of us which made us feel more personable.
Although both flights had departure delays, I don't think most people cared. Still, Breeze has some kinks to work out. Although still training, turnaround time for flights is slow. The app still needs to be written out of the box and there needs to be a way to download the boarding pass to a mobile device for offline use. Still, it was fun to be a part of the launch of Breeze air service from Louisville. It looked like the crew was having as much fun as the rest of us. They seem eager to build a “really good” airline. I'm looking forward to my next Breeze flight to see how the service matures since its launch.
Oh, by the way, Breeze Airlines has an email waiting for me in Louisville. They sent all of us 2,500 BreezePoints ($25.00) for the delay we caused at CHS; that was really nice, thank you.
