Breeze Airways is a fairly new low-cost domestic air carrier found in the United States. The airline currently offers nonstop flights to places that are not served by any of the major airlines.
As the airline grows so does its aircraft fleet. Breeze is one of the largest carriers currently using the Airbus A220. It is one of the few remaining U.S. air carriers continuing to operate the Embraer 190. The airline also is an operator of the Embraer E195.
In this guide, we will take an in-depth look at all three of these aircraft types and how Breeze Airways conducts its flight operations with them. We’ll analyze how Breeze acquired these aircraft, the routes they are used on, and what passengers have to say about flying on these aircraft.
Breeze Airways Embraer 190
How did Breeze Acquire The Embraer 190?
In 2021, Breeze announced a partnership with Nordic Aviation Capital to lease its first Embraer 190s. Nordic Aviation Capital is an aircraft leasing company specializing in leasing regional-type aircraft like the Embraer 190.
This aircraft type was a perfect choice for Breeze Airways. The airline’s business plan was to initially serve medium-sized U.S. cities that didn’t have a nonstop flight between them. Also considering that 2021 was the time the world was still under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the airline industry suffering because of that, a smaller plane to serve a smaller demand was a great choice.
As of October 2023, Breeze Airways has 10 Embraer 190s in its aircraft fleet. On average, these aircraft are older approaching 15 to 16 years old.
In June of 2023, Breeze Airways and TrueNoord announced an additional three Embraers 190s to the airlines. These new aircraft are already operating with Breeze.
How Does Breeze Airways operate their Embraer 190s?
Breeze Airways initially planned to use its Embraer 190s on short to medium routes throughout its route network. However, this fact is interesting because it has a longer range, takeoff & landing performance compared to its fleet member, Embraer 195.
The Embraer 190 can fly a maximum distance of 2,800 miles which is about ¾ of the total width of the United States. In comparison, the Embraer 195 can only fly 2600 miles. That’s 200 miles less than the Embraer 190. The 190 also takes off and lands at a shorter distance compared to the Embraer 195.
So why does Breeze Airways tend not to favor the Embraer 190 in its operations?
It’s probably due to the same reasons why JetBlue Airways is retiring their Embraer 190s. The 190 is an inefficient aircraft compared to the Embraer 195 and Airbus A220. It carries the least amount of passengers compared to both of these aircraft which is critical to keeping routes alive between two smaller cities. If you’re generating small passenger demand, you can’t expect to keep that route alive because it won’t be revenue-generating.
The Embraer 190 is the older aircraft out of the three aircraft types in the fleet and probably costs more to operate. So if you’re not generating revenue from operating this aircraft on a less demanded route, you might as well give the Embraer 195 and Airbus A220 a chance since there are fewer maintenance costs. That will decrease the revenue margin on the less demanded flights.
In February 2024, Breeze Airways all but announced that the Embraer 190 will be phased out of their fleet in favor of the Airbus A220.
What Routes Does Breeze The Embraer 190?
The number of flights on the Embraer 190 is severely limited compared to the Embraer 195 and Airbus A220. The following flights are the routes we have observed the Embraer 190 being used on.
- Provo to Santa Ana
- Tuscaloosa to Springfield
Reviews of Breeze’s Embraer 190
There weren’t many negative reviews of the Embraer 190 flights. The most common complaint was how tight the seats were and the lack of padding to aid flight comfort.
But on such short flights, most of the general public can put up with these inconveniences in return for discounted airfare compared to most domestic air carriers.
Initially, our flight was going smooth. The cabin staff was nothing special, departed on time. The seats were average. A little extra legroom than I expected.
Airline Equality
“Breeze’s E190s feature 12 rows of extra legroom seats and 15 rows of regular seats, all in a 2×2 configuration. Nice seats are 17.6″ wide and feature 29″ of pitch. The seats are tight, especially with bags stuffed under the seats.”
Travel Codex
Breeze Airways Embraer 195
How Does Breeze Airways operate their Embraer 195s?
The Embraer 195s have taken a larger role than the Embraer 190 for Breeze Airways. As already outlined, the 195 holds more passengers than the 190 meaning the airline can generate more revenue per route flown.
Currently, the Embraer 195 is flying much of the short to medium-point-to-point routes offered by Breeze Airways. However, with only seven operation aircraft in the fleet, there’s simply not enough coverage from this one aircraft type alone to handle all short to medium routes. That’s why you will see a mixture between the Airbus A220 and Embraer E195 on all these shorter flights.
The Embraer 195 will be phased out in the next few years and will be replaced by the Airbus A220.
How Did Breeze Acquire The Embraer 195?
The first aircraft that Breeze Airways leased initially was the Embraer 195. The airline worked with Azul Airlines (a Brazilian airline also owned by Breeze Airways founder, David Needleman) to lease out the first 28 Embraer 195s.
However, this deal was dependent on another lease delivery concerning Azul and the Polish airline, LOT. LOT had priority access to Azul’s Embraer 195s. With priority access, LOT had the option to take some of Azul’s Embraer 195s or not. If they decided to take the priority access, Breeze would have been left with only 21 Embraer 195s instead of 28.
Currently, Breeze Airways has a total of seven operational Embraer 195s in its aircraft fleet. The average age of these aircraft is between 11-12 years old.
What Routes Does Breeze Use the Embraer 195?
Listed below are some of the routes we have observed the Embraer 195 being flown on.
- Norfolk to Islip
- Portland to Pittsburgh
- Providence to Charleston
- New Orleans to Charleston
- New Orleans to Jacksonville
- Richmond to New Orleans
- Pittsburgh to Providence
- Portland to Charleston
- Tampa to Norfolk
- Columbus to Charleston
- Charleston to Pittsburgh
Reviews of Breeze’s Embraer 195
There weren’t many reviews of the Breeze Airway’s Embraer 195 available. Out of the reviews we did find, the consensus was almost lukewarm about the Embraer 195. People only cared about how the aircraft got them from A to B safely and were pretty pleased with the fact alone.
With these regional-type aircraft that fly only 1 to 2 hours flights at the maximum, that should be the main concern. These flights aren’t built to be overly comfortable like something you would experience on a long-haul Delta Airlines flight.
Being a discount airline, you can expect many of the frills and benefits to be limited and comfort to be sacrificed to keep ticket prices low.
The seating in the Embraer aircraft, even in the Nicer section is tight like an AA regional jet. (Economy seating on a Delta mainline is roomier!) I got to my destination and back home safe and reasonably on time. Breeze could use some improvement but they’re doing something right because inbound to BDL was almost full and outbound to RDU was completely full.
Airline Equality
“Overall, I found flying Breeze to be an awesome experience. For such a young carrier, I was very impressed with their product. Considering that this aircraft was a near 15-year-old Embraer aircraft, the cabin was sleek, modern, and comfortable. For the short hop from Charleston to Charleston, I had almost no complaints and the staff I interacted with couldn’t have been nicer.”
Simply Flying
Breeze Airways Airbus A220
How Did Breeze Acquire Airbus A220?
Breeze Airways first inquired about acquiring the Airbus A220 in 2018, when it signed a memorandum with Airbus for an aircraft order to be fulfilled in 2021 with an option to purchase more.
The airline has put in an aircraft order of 80 Airbus A220-300s. As of October 2023, Airbus has successfully delivered 16 of these airplanes.
In February 2024, Breeze Airways placed an order for more Airbus A220s. They also announced their intention to solely operate the Airbus aircraft in the distance future.
How Does Breeze Airways operate their Airbus A220s?
For Breeze Airways, the workhorse is their Airbus A220s. The A220s are flown on short to medium routes as well as transcontinental routes. It is capable of handling all of Breeze Airways’ needs, efficiently as well.
With the airline having a total of 35 routes in its network as of October 2023, the bulk of them are being handled by the Airbus A220. This makes sense since the Airbus A220 is the largest aircraft type in the Breeze Airways fleet.
The airline still has more Airbuses that need to be delivered. It only has 16 out of the 80 it ordered. Breeze is also expanding their route network significantly. You can expect the role of the Airbus A220 to grow as the airline starts to grow.
What Routes Does Breeze Fly Airbus A220?
Below are some of the routes we have observed Breeze Airways using the Airbus A220.
- Raleigh-Durham to Windsor Locks
- Charleston to Portland
- Vero Beach to White Plains
- Orlando to Akron
- Windsor Locks to Fort Myers
- Providence to Sarasota
- Charleston to Cincinnati
- Raleigh Durham to Las Vegas
- Akron to Las Vegas
- Richmond to Los Angeles
- Windsor Locks to Las Vegas
- Provo to Phoenix
- Syracuse to Las Vegas
- Pittsburgh to Los Angeles
- New Orleans to Pittsburgh
- Richmond to San Francisco
- Tampa to Columbus
- Providence to Fort Myers
- Windsor Locks to Jacksonville
- Richmond to Las Vegas
- Windsor Locks to Richmond
- Orlando to New Orleans
- Tampa to Bentonville
Reviews of Breeze’s Airbus A220
The reviews of Breeze’s Airbus A220 service have been a mixed reaction. One thing noticed was on reviews for the Breeze Airway’s Embraers 190s & 195s, many people commented on how they expect the flaws of those airplanes will be addressed on the new Airbus A220. They didn’t want to give their overall review of the airline without flying on the Airbus A220.
There weren’t many negative reviews about the Airbus A220 and how it functioned. Most of the negative reviews that were associated with the Breeze’s Airbus A220 were directed at the airline’s customer service and standard operating procedures.
The Airbus A220 service can also set itself for more bad reviews since there are some transcontinental flights offered by Breeze Airways. This aircraft is meant to accommodate regional-type flights without a hitch but a flight across the country on a narrowbody aircraft smaller than the Airbus A320 or Airbus A321 can open up some avenues for complaints. That alongside Breeze reducing passenger benefits like free snacks or meals for a cross-country flight can rub some passengers the wrong way.
“Do not fly with this airline. Pay more money for another. Trust me! Flight was delayed by 8 hours. They made us sit on the plane for 2 hours because they screwed up booking. Offered you nothing besides cookies for their multiple major mistakes. I usually understand delays, but they really screwed up. The flight should have been cancelled. They were selfish by not cancelling and refunding. DO NOT FLY with Breeze Airways.” –
Airline Equality
“They’re great. Give them a shot. Mostly new a220-300 planes which only have 1 row of middle seats. The crew was friendly when I last flew breeze“
Reddit
Sources
https://metroairportnews.com/breeze-airways-takes-delivery-of-first-of-15-embraer-e190-aircraft/
https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Breeze-Airways
https://www.airbus.com/en/products-services/commercial-aircraft/market/orders-and-deliveries
