Breeze Airways will be flying from Albany International Airport starting in June 2025.
There will be three destinations with nonstop flights offered from Albany. Breeze customers will be able to fly to Fort Myers, Charleston, and Raleigh-Durham.
The flights between Raleigh-Durham and Fort Myers will fly twice weekly on Thursday and Sundays. These flights have an anticipated start date of June 5th.
The Albany-Charleston route pairing will begin on June 13th, and will fly on Mondays and Fridays.
Lukas Johnson, Chief Commercial Officer at Breeze Airways commented “Breeze Airways looks to fly unserved routes and saw the need in Albany, where he said many people fly to hubs where they have to catch connecting flights.”
These new routes are part of Breeze’s big push to grow their Northeast route network. The airline has a rather large presence in New York State. With the addition of Albany, the airline now flies from 8 airports in the Empire State.
What Does This Mean For Breeze Customers?
The Added Service from New York State Helps New Yorkers Find Sunshine
Much of the direct service from Upstate Central New York goes down South. Take a look at Allegiant Air’s service from Syracuse. Many of the same ideas there can apply to Breeze’s introduction in Albany.
For one, Albany is home to the University of Albany, one of the largest public colleges in the state. With a large student population, there is demand for students looking for cheap trips to soak up some sun before classes start up again in the fall.
Folks in the New York’s Capital Region might be looking for an summertime alternative to a weekend trip to the Catskills.
With Albany International Airport having quite limited nonstop service, Breeze Airways gives these customers the chance to fly directly to warm weather destinations. Without having to connect to either JFK Airport or LaGuardia.
Breeze Airways is Making Themselves Known in Albany
Southwest Airlines and Avelo Airlines each have routes from Albany that Breeze Airways will try to compete on.
Breeze will compete with Avelo on the Raleigh – Durham route.
They will also compete with Southwest on flights down to Fort Myers.
There is a fair amount of low cost service out of Albany. Legacy airlines like Delta or American have short regional flights in Albany. But, there is an absence of a true, quality low cost point to point carrier that can compete with Southwest Airlines. Breeze can likely fill that spot.
With that said, it would be quite foolish for Breeze Airways to not consider offering flights from Albany. They already have such a large share of the New York State market by operating from many airports across the state.
Can Breeze’s Value Proposition Win Over Demand?
Breeze is putting a large gamble on their value proposition. Which is a low cost, quality experience.
Allegiant and Avelo are traditional ultra low cost carriers who operate to get you to your destination in one piece. But as cheaply as possible, cutting out many creature comforts.
Southwest has always been a solid airline choice. But they are switching their business model focusing on quality service. This is leading to higher ticket prices which many customers don’t like.
Many customers have been fairly happy with Breeze’s service since its start. In their short history, they have won awards for their product.
Only time will tell if Breeze will find success in Albany.
Sources
https://www.news10.com/community/breeze-airways-to-offer-low-cost-flights-from-albany-this-summer
https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/breeze-airways-announces-flights-albany-20146040.php
