Breeze Airways cuts routes, service; will it affect the start of flights from Vero Beach?

VERO BEACH — As Breeze Airways makes adjustments to some of its routes throughout the country, airline officials insist those reductions will have no impact on its plans to bring passenger airline service to the Vero Beach Regional Airport in February.

Breeze Airways announced earlier this month it would begin passenger service in February from Vero Beach to Hartford, Connecticut; Norfolk, Virginia; and Westchester, New York.

Those plans remain unchanged, officials said, and will be unaffected by other changes to Breeze's operations.

Read more: Breeze Airways confirms it will begin Vero Beach service Feb. 2; three destinations named

Also: Vero Beach lands second passenger airline; Breeze Airways aims to begin flying here in February

Breeze officials confirmed Monday the carrier is temporarily suspending service to some destinations in December because of crew availability. Those 13 routes include flights between Tampa and Louisville, Kentucky; and between Columbus, Ohio and West Palm Beach.

The airline also is discontinuing nonstop service between Charleston, South Carolina, and San Francisco; and between Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Nashville, both because of demand, Breeze spokesperson Ryne Williams said in a statement.

Most of the flight changes are minimal adjustments with little impact on customers, Williams said. In addition, the airline is adding flights, including a nonstop between Tulsa and Orlando, which is to begin in March, he said.

Vero Beach officials say they aren't concerned that Breeze plans to suspend and cancel routes in other cities will impact its plans for Vero Beach.

"We're busy trying to get ready for Breeze to start their service here in February," said Vero Beach Regional Airport. "I am not paying attention to what's going on with the other cities."

Meanwhile, response to Breeze's new service here has been positive, officials said.

"The only thing that I've heard from Breeze is that their their ticket sales are strong," Scher said. "In fact, I believe they said that they're stronger than they expected initially, so that's a good thing."

Breeze Airways declined to release exact figures, but the airline is pleased with ticket sales on Vero Beach routes so far, said Williams.

“We have received a warm welcome and look forward to giving our guests in Vero Beach a quality product that makes travel much more convenient," Williams said. "These new routes to the Northeast will allow for people to seamlessly travel to Florida’s eastern coast to enjoy the warmer weather, especially during the winter months.”

Breeze, which began operating in May 2021, is the second commercial airline to arrive in Vero Beach over the past few years. Elite Airways, with passenger service to Newark, New Jersey, and seasonal other routes, landed in December 2015. However, Elite has not flown in or out of Vero Beach since June.

Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm.com. Contact her at Colleen.Wixon@TCPalm.com or 772-978-2235.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Breeze Airways cuts routes; will it still begin flying to Vero Beach?