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SALT LAKE CITY — Breeze Airways, a new Utah-based airline from JetBlue founder David Neeleman, received final approval Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Transportation to commence operations.
Breeze got a tentative green light in late February, which was followed by a two-week waiting period before the department issued Breeze a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for Interstate Air Transportation on Wednesday.
Originally scheduled for takeoff in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic stalled the airline's rollout after it was first announced in 2018. Now the airline is hiring and has amassed an initial fleet of Embraer E190s and E195s, leased from Nordic Aviation Capital and Azul Brazilian Airlines.
Congratulations, @breeze_airways! The airline officially received its first #Embraer#E190 on lease from NAC this week. This E190 will enable Breeze to fly to underserved markets across the USA. More: https://t.co/byqAC6cZQ1#Embraer#EJetspic.twitter.com/6195Ga4txO
— Arjan Meijer (@_ArjanMeijer) February 4, 2021
Breeze ultimately plans to utilize the Airbus A220, Business Insider reports.
Breeze's focus will be on underserved and midsize markets, KSL.com reported last year, and Neeleman said it aspires to be the "world's nicest airline" while maintaining affordability. He told Conde Nast Traveler in 2018 — when the airline's working name was "Moxy" — that he thinks of Breeze as "a high-tech company that just happens to fly airplanes."
"We are going to build all the technology out; it's going to be like using the Uber app or the Amazon app, and we will have a whole menu of things on the airplanes and on the ground, and we will take care of you," he was quoted as saying, adding that the airline will also be "low cost."
Breeze is the fifth airline started by Neeleman — JetBlue, Azul, WestJet and the Utah-based Morris Air, later bought by Southwest.
Simple Flying reports that Breeze aims to begin selling tickets in less than a month. The airline is headquartered in Cottonwood Heights.
