Breeze to launch 4 new routes from Washington Dulles, but delay 2 from New Orleans

18.09.2024 - 14:13 / thepointsguy.com

Breeze Airways is launching its first-ever service from one of the major airports in the Washington D.C. area — and planning four new routes in the process.

Meanwhile, aircraft delivery delays plaguing the global aerospace industry will see the airline push back the launch of two new routes from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) planned for 2025.

Starting with the good news: Breeze on Tuesday announced it will launch service from Dulles International Airport (IAD) outside Washington.

The carrier's arrival at Dulles, located about 26 miles outside D.C., in Virginia, starts soon — just ten days from now. By November, though, the Utah-based carrier will operate four new Dulles routes.

Breeze's first route will connect the D.C. area with Ogdensburg International Airport (OGS) in New York. The flight will link the nation's capital region with the small community located just across the St. Lawrence River from Canada, about 60 miles from Ottawa.

The route will be subsidized by the U.S. government as part of the Essential Air Service program, a federally-funded program through the U.S. Department of Transportation that guarantees minimal service levels to small communities.

But Breeze is planning a larger footprint at Dulles.

Here's the full rundown of Breeze's four new routes launching from Dulles this fall:

Dulles and Ogdensburg are both new airports for Breeze, giving the carrier a total of 66 communities served nationwide.

Meanwhile, this expansion will also see Breeze double down on South Bend, where it just announced its first service in August.

The carrier already has a sizable (and expanding) presence both in Provo and Vero Beach.

Related: America's third-smallest state is home to the hottest airline turf battle

It's not all good news. Breeze will have to delay the start of two new routes planned to launch from New Orleans starting in 2025, the carrier said Tuesday, citing aircraft delivery constraints.

It comes amid slowed delivery timelines at Airbus, which cited supply chain disruptions among factors leading to slower delivery timelines for some aircraft.

In Breeze's case, the delays affect delivery timelines for A220 aircraft. As a result, the carrier will push back the planned launches of its MSY flights to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) until the fall of 2025. Both were scheduled to launch in February.

Furthermore, the delivery delays will push back another Breeze goal: to shift to an all-A220 fleet. Though it had hoped to phase out its remaining Embraer jets in favor of A220s by this fall, Breeze now anticipates it will fly some Embraers through at least next summer.

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