Budget airline turf war: Breeze adds 10 routes to New Haven, Avelo's biggest stronghold

13.08.2024 - 14:43 / thepointsguy.com / Andrew Levy / Lukas Johnson

There's a budget airline turf war heating up in Connecticut between the two newest U.S. airlines.

For months, low-cost airline Avelo has staked significant East Coast growth plans around Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN), which until recently, did not have commercial service.

But Avelo is about to get company in New Haven – and in a big way.

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Fellow startup carrier Breeze Airways will launch New Haven service in December, with plans to operate 10 routes from the southern Connecticut airport by February — including more than a half-dozen routes on which it will go directly head-to-head with Avelo.

The two carriers will compete on a handful of routes to Florida as well as other Southeast destinations like Charleston International Airport (CHS) in South Carolina and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina.

Breeze also announced plans to significantly expand its presence at Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford over the coming months, where the two carriers already compete head-to-head. The plans, Breeze noted, include future international service.

For its part, Avelo isn't ceding to the pressure. The Houston-based ultra-low-cost carrier announced Tuesday it will launch a new nonstop flight to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in November — its 27^th destination from New Haven.

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The route will launch Nov. 14 with two weekly round trips on Thursdays and Sundays.

Plus, the carrier said Tuesday it will add two additional New Haven nonstop flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico, beginning Nov. 8, and expand the number of Boeing 737-800 jets it operates out of its largest base.

"Avelo is proud to be Connecticut's airline and continue growth in New Haven," Avelo CEO Andrew Levy said in a statement Tuesday.

Here's the full rundown of Breeze's new nonstop routes from New Haven. The routes phase in from December through February.

Breeze's major New Haven expansion comes just days after the carrier seemed to close in on some of Avelo's territories, taking on the carrier on a handful of additional routes to New England, most notably Hartford.

These 10 new routes, and additional New England point of origin are also just the latest Northeast expansion for the Utah-based airline — with New Haven its eighth New England destination and 64^th city nationwide.

"From day one, our playbook has included significant growth across the Northeast region of the U.S. due to the high population density and limited nonstop travel options," Breeze chief commercial office Lukas Johnson said in a statement Tuesday.

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