One year after flying into Vero Beach, Breeze Airways continues setting passenger records

Nick Slater, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·3 min read
Vicki Matteson, vice president of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, John Cotugno, mayor of Vero Beach and Brian McCormick, director of airport properties, facilities and contract services for Breeze Airways, spray the second Breeze Airways flight to Vero Beach with champagne during a inaugural celebration on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.

VERO BEACH — Breeze Airways marked its first year flying into Vero Beach Regional Airport by setting a passenger record in January.

That's after doing the same in December, November and October, too.

"We are so thrilled with how Vero Beach has gone," said Breeze spokesperson Gareth Edmondson-Jones. "We know it has been only a year, but what a year it has been."

Lifting off

Breeze began service to Vero Beach Feb. 2, 2023, with a flight from Hartford, Connecticut. It filled the void left by the sudden departure of Elite Airways in 2022. Like Elite, Breeze is the only scheduled passenger airline serving Vero Beach.

During its inaugural month Breeze carried 5,103 passengers, and it hit its first record of 7,571 passengers in April.

Over the late spring and summer months, May through September, Breeze averaged 5,648 passengers, outpacing Elite's 5,574 passengers, according to city records.

Since October, however, Breeze has not looked back.

It's set a record passenger load each month, carrying 8,657 in October, 14,023 in November, 16,238 in December and 17,335 in January.

By comparison, Elite's best year saw was 2018, its third here, when it carried 18,990 passengers.

Breeze flew 103,163 passengers during its first year on more than 1,000 flights. During its seven years at Vero Beach Regional Airport, Elite carried 82,822.

"We are thrilled that the people of Vero Beach have taken us to their heart," said Edmondson-Jones. "Be on the lookout for more to come."

Keeping pace

"These record-breaking months for Breeze means that the airport is providing service to a larger segment of the local population," said Airport Director Todd Scher. "We have always been a good general-aviation airport, but not that many people could use the airport.

"With Breeze here, it is something that anybody and everyone can use."

With that success, Scher said, will come improvements:

  • Additional seating in the boarding lounges

  • Protection from weather at baggage claim, although it will remain outside for the near future

  • Improvements to exit lanes

  • ADA-compliant bathrooms

  • More parking, including paved parking

"We are cautiously optimistic that the baggage-lane and exit-lane improvements will begin in the next few months," said Scher. "Car parking improvements could happen later this year."

It's unknown when the lounge seating will be expanded because of "funding constraints," he said."

March schedule

When Breeze began service from Vero Beach it flew twice a week to Westchester, New York, and Hartford, Connecticut. Those destinations now are daily.

The airline added service to Providence, Rhode Island, in November and to Long Island, New York, in December.

Departures from Vero Beach

White Plains, New York

  • 9:40 a.m. daily

  • 4:10 p.m. Monday and Friday

  • 4:07 p.m. Tuesday

  • 4:22 p.m. Wednesday

Hartford, Connecticut

  • 5:40 p.m. daily

Islip, New York

  • 4:06 p.m. Sunday and Thursday

Providence, Rhode Island

  • 11:15 a.m. Saturday

  • 7:50 p.m. Sunday and Thursday

  • 10:55 a.m. March 5

  • Tuesday March 12 at 11:47 a.m.

  • 11:45 a.m. March 26

  • 7:10 p.m. March 6, 13 and 27

Arrivals in Vero Beach

White Plains, New York

  • 4:25 p.m. daily

  • 10:42 p.m. Tuesday

  • 10:52 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday

  • 10:40 p.m. Friday

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Hartford, Connecticut

  • 3:11 p.m. Sunday and Thursday

  • 3:20 p.m. Monday and Friday

  • 3:06 p.m. Tuesday

  • 3:36 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday

Islip, New York

  • 10:19 p.m. Sunday and Thursday

Providence, Rhode Island

  • 7:07 p.m. Sunday

  • 10:14 a.m. March 5

  • 11:04 a.m. March 12 and 26

  • 6:29 p.m. March 6, 13 and 27

  • 7:07 p.m. Thursday

  • 10:34 a.m. Saturday

Nick Slater is TCPalm's Indian River County Watchdog reporter. You can reach him at Nick.Slater@tcpalm.com and 224-830-2875.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Breeze Airways celebrates flying out of Vero Beach Airport for a year