Breeze Airways announced that the airline will begin offering international flights to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Jamaica. These flights will start in Q1 2026.
This one has been brewing for a little bit. It’s something we predicted a while back. But Breeze Airways has finally announced that it will begin international service.
Starting Q1 2026, the low cost carrier will launch nonstop flights to three Caribbean destinations: Cancun, Montego Bay, and Punta Cana. Staying true to form, they’ll be doing these flights from cities that are a bit light when it comes to international service: Norfolk, Charleston, Raleigh, and Providence.
Here’s the full route breakdown:
Weekly Seasonal Service to Cancun:
Twice-Weekly Seasonal Service from Raleigh:
Twice-Weekly Seasonal Service From Tampa
This couldn’t have come at a better time for Breeze. Right now, some established carriers have been going through PR nightmares and operational chaos. Breeze is sticking to their gameplan in executing their strategy of serving underserved markets with light competition.
Spirit Airlines is in full meltdown mode with their second Chapter 11 filing. They have been yanking routes and slashing staff and aircraft. Spirit is currently operating the New Orleans – Cancun route. Breeze is coming in to pick up those pieces if Spirit’s demand ceases.
But the real competition that Breeze may be going after is Avelo Airlines. Avelo beat them to the punch when it came to international routes last year. They launched flights to exactly the same Caribbean destinations from Hartford.
Even now, Avelo is pushing very hard into the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast which is Breeze territory. It appears that the main battle ground for both these airlines will be Raleigh.
You have to give credit where credit is due. Breeze’s “underserved markets” playbook delivers results. Residents in these overlooked cities have been starved from international destinations. They often are forced to connect to larger international airports just to reach basic vacation destinations.
But Breeze’s approach doesn’t go without any risk. Route planning like Breeze requires precision. But luckily for Breeze, they’ve been hitting more so than missing. Just look at Avelo’s West Coast fiasco that ended in an embarrassing retreat from the region after many underperforming routes.
Whatever market research Breeze uses to fuel their route network, it works. Right now jumping to international operations during market softness? That is brilliant execution of opportunistic planning.
The key to Breeze’s expansion is the Airbus A220. Despite being a larger regional-esque jet, this plane can do transcons. That means it can handle flights as long as 5 to 6 hours.
We’ll have to watch how these new international routes from Raleigh, New Orleans, and Providence do. These are all operating bases for the airline. If they perform well enough, every destination within Breeze’s A220 endurance radius becomes fair game for a further expansion by the airline.
The big question I have is…will Breeze target Iceland?
Reykjavik has as of late become a favorite layover point between North America and Europe. The Providence-Reykjavik route falls well within the A220’s capabilities. Play Airlines actually flew that exact route before eventually pulling out from U.S travel entirely.
Alaska Airlines and Southwest are both making Reykjavik pushes, could Breeze undercut them both as the low-cost option to Iceland. It’s purely speculation at this point, but if these Caribbean routes prove to be successful, don’t be surprised that Breeze takes a leap over to Iceland.
The international expansion by Breeze is more than simply offering routes to vacation destinations. It showcases Breeze discipline and doubling down of their core business model when U.S competitors either stumble or second guess their own strategies.
Travelers in Norfolk, Charleston, Raleigh, and Providence will be blessed with direct access to popular vacation destinations at low cost and without having to connect to congested major airports.
If Breeze succeeds in their routes, we may see a larger international expansion. Based on their track record, that may be in their cards very soon.
