Long awaited West Coast flights from T.F. Green will have to wait longer
Breeze Airways won't be flying from Providence to Los Angeles this year after all.
The startup budget airline confirmed Tuesday that it has "postponed" the start of three new routes out of Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport that were supposed to start this summer.
Previously: Breeze Airways offers first-ever nonstop flight from T.F. Green to West Coast
Among them were nonstops from Green to Los Angeles International Airport that were supposed to begin Wednesday and continue through Sept. 3. They would be the first scheduled direct flights between Providence and the West Coast.
Breeze spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones said Tuesday the airline now plans to begin the flights to Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2023.
The Breeze postponements were first reported by Providence Business News.
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Savannah and Columbus flights also postponed
Seasonal service to Savanah, Georgia, and Columbus, Ohio, was also postponed. Savanah will now start in February and Columbus next summer, Edmondson-Jones said.
"Like most airlines and airports around the country, we are experiencing issues with crew availability and supply chain constraints," he wrote in an email. "We’re deeply apologetic that we are impacting our guests’ summer travel plans. The actions were taken in advance to allow guests more time to make alternate travel arrangements and to ease delays and congestion leading to great disruption."
What if you already have a ticket to fly?
Anyone who already booked a seat on one of the postponed Breeze flights will receive a full refund and 10,000 Breeze frequent flier points.
That was cold comfort for travelers like Jean Barrett, who had booked a $200 ticket to from T.F. Green to Los Angeles departing July 9. When Breeze canceled the route last Friday, the best flights she and her husband could find to get back home to California were $400 tickets flying out of Boston, she said.
"We had to pay twice as much on another airline due to the short time frame," she wrote in an email. "Given the chaos in the airline industry currently we opted for nonstop flights, which meant we couldn't fly out of Providence."
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Breeze Airways destinations from PVD
Breeze flies from Green to Pittsburgh, Charleston, South Carolina, and Norfolk, Virginia. The airline still plans to launch new flights from Providence to Richmond, Virginia, starting Thursday; and Jacksonville, Florida, starting Friday.
panderson@providencejournal.com
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On Twitter: @PatrickAnderso_
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Breeze Airways postpones Providence to Los Angeles routes
