Breeze Airways (MX, Salt Lake City) has outlined plans to roll out A220-300 operations on 17 existing short-haul routes in the second quarter of 2022, ahead of their eventual deployment on longer sectors.
The David Neeleman-backed start-up announced that it would initially deploy the Airbus twinjets on the following routes:
- from Tampa International to: Akron Regional, Charleston International, Louisville International, Norfolk International, VA, Oklahoma City Will Rogers World, Richmond International, VA, Tulsa International (all starting on May 4, 2022), Fayetteville Drake, and Huntsville International (May 6),
- from Charleston to Providence (May 5), Richmond (May 26), Hartford Bradley (June 2), and Huntsville (June 30),
- from Hartford/Bradley to Columbus John Glenn, OH, Norfolk, and Pittsburgh International (all starting on June 2),
- from Norfolk to Columbus.
The launch of A220-300 operations will also mark the debut of Breeze's business class, which can be flexibly configured for between 10 and 38 passengers on each aircraft in contrast to its E190s and E195s which are outfitted in a dual-class configuration with economy and premium economy seats only. The airline stressed that while the new seating will be on offer as of May, some other business-class features, such as meals and internet connectivity, will be introduced once the A220s begin operating their target routes.
Breeze Airways has previously indicated that it will continue to operate the Embraer regional jets on shorter sectors and the A220s on longer ones. It has eighty A220-300s on firm order from Airbus, of which a single one (on lease from AerCap) has been delivered so far. It plans to take roughly one new A220 per month going forward and is targeting 15 by the end of 2022. Its current fleet also includes ten E190s and three E195s, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
