- Breeze Airways’ first international flight is scheduled to take off next January.
- It’s selling tickets for seven new routes to Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.
- Breeze is the first US airline in over a decade to receive the certification that makes it a flag carrier.
Breeze Airways announced Wednesday that it is selling tickets for its first international flights.
The airline said it was the first airline in over a decade to be certified as a US flag carrier, following a “rigorous evaluation process” that began in 2023.
Other countries give flag carrier status to airlines strongly associated with their national identity. But the US applies it to all its airlines that are licensed to fly internationally by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Breeze is launching seven routes to three destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, with the first one scheduled to take off in January 2026.
- Charleston, South Carolina, to Cancún, Mexico (from January 17)
- New Orleans to Cancún (from February 7)
- Norfolk, Virginia, to Cancún (from January 10)
- Providence, Rhode Island, to Cancún (from February 14)
- Raleigh, North Carolina, to Montego Bay, Jamaica (from March 5)
- Raleigh to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (from March 4)
- Tampa, Florida, to Montego Bay (from February 11)
They’re all set to operate seasonally, with the flights to Cancún scheduled on Saturdays, and the others twice a week.
One-way fares start at $99 on the New Orleans and Tampa routes and rise to at least $159 on the Providence route.
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Breeze also expects to open a new crew base at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in the first quarter of next year.
The airline was founded in 2021 by David Neeleman, who also launched JetBlue and WestJet, among others.
It’s been a challenging time recently for competitors like Spirit Airlines, which last month filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year. But privately owned Breeze said it turned a profit for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Breeze focuses on serving niche routes, using planes with a smaller capacity like the Airbus A220 and Embraer’s regional jets. Neeleman previously told Business Insider that Breeze was the sole operator on nearly 90% of its 220 nonstop routes.
The airline also offers some first-class seats, which are more lucrative and align with the post-pandemic trend of passengers being more willing to spend extra on premium experiences.
“We’re excited to bring the same convenience and elevated experience they love about our domestic flights to three exciting new international destinations,” Neeleman said in the press release.