Tulsa, Montreal and Oklahoma City: BNA adds even more nonstop routes from air-tech startup

The latest low-cost carrier adding direct regional flights to BNA's ever-growing schedule caters to travelers going to cities without prior nonstop service in Nashville.

Breeze Airways was founded last year in Utah by airline tycoon David Neeleman, a veteran entrepreneur who uses consumer data and technology to offer cheap nonstop regional trips.

Beginning June 2, Breeze will begin quick flights from Nashville to Akron/Canton, Ohio; Hartford, Conn.; and Tulsa, Okla.

"Nashville is a growing area and we want to go to places that people want to visit," Neeleman said. "We have a lower trip cost versus others. We do better with no competition."

Business at Nashville International Airport has surpassed 2019 levels and the Metro Nashville Airport Authority is investing billions of dollars to expand and modernize the 1980s facility by 2026.

Neeleman, a JetBlue founder, and his wife, stayed in the Gulch's boutique Thompson Hotel to celebrate the inaugural Music City flights – and to take in some live country music.

"Nashville's a great city," Neeleman said. "We have a model where we see, for example, 50 people a day going to Hartford. So we provide direct flights and reduce the cost. We can stimulate a market up to 20 times."

To address nationwide staffing shortages, the airline relies on its easy-to-use mobile app for customer service interactions via text and chat services. Neeleman said inquiries are answered "within 10 minutes." Breeze also offers no change or cancellation fees, instead providing refunds.

Neeleman has backed tech-forward airlines for decades, and he said the targeted cost-savings brings big profits.

Breeze's new BNA routes are on top of recent additions from low-cost newcomer Flair Airlines with service to Edmonton and Toronto, Canada; Air Canada's new Montreal flights; and Southwest's expanded service to Portland, Maine; Portland, Oregon; and Oklahoma City.

Last year, Canada's Swoop Airlines expanded to U.S. cities Nashville, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles last year.

Low-cost Houston-based Avelo Airlines introduced a new Connecticut-Nashville connection in February, and Allegiant added jets to Washington D.C., Providence and Roanoke at BNA in April. Contour Airlines added regional stops.

In June 2021, Allegiant Air announced 23 new nonstop U.S. routes, including nonstop service to Palm Springs, California, and Jacksonville and Melbourne, Florida.

Customer service is at a premium in the hospitality industry, and Breeze trademarked the phrase "Seriously Nice" for its brand.

Besides friendly workers, Breeze's fleet of Airbus A220s and Embraer 190s have seats with "extra legroom" and fewer middle seats because of their two-by-two and two-by-three seats-per-row layouts.

"The airline plans to more than double its fleet this year to 30 aircraft, including 14 Airbus A220s and three additional Embraer E-jets," according to a company statement. "Breeze has ordered 80 new Airbus A220-300 aircraft, that will be delivered one per month over the next six years, with options for 40 more."

Raised in Brazil by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionaries, Neeleman helped start Brazil's largest airline Azul after himself serving as a missionary there.

He also helped start Canada's WestJet, and early e-ticket adopter Morris Air – since bought by Southwest.

Breeze was founded with a Charleston-to-Tampa connection last year and now runs 20 routes through Charleston, its primary hub.

Nashville International Airport is working feverishly to expand Concourses A and D with more gates to accommodate the growing schedule.

The main terminal is being redeveloped with a new towering ceiling from which a $900,000 art sculpture will hang.

MNAA incentivizes expansion with free marketing and landing-fee discounts to newcomers. Air Canada received a discount package valued at $371,000 when it added new routes. British Airways snagged up to $2 million for its London trips and Flair Airlines won $255,000 for its investment in BNA.

"Our team is always working to attract new airlines and new routes to BNA that bring more nonstop destinations and more choices to Tennessee travelers," BNA CEO Doug Kreulen said. "With these new Breeze Airways routes, it’s even easier to see our Titans in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton or plan a quick summer trip to Oklahoma or Connecticut."

Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at smazza@tennessean.com, by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Breeze Airways, new pandemic-born startup, adds to BNA routes