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Flying out of Long Island MacArthur Airport just became even more of a Breeze.
Boasting flights to Norfolk, Viriginia, and Charleston, South Carolina, for as little as $39, Breeze Airways announced on Monday that it will start flying out the Islip airport on Feb. 17.
A creation of JetBlue founder David Neeleman, Breeze’s business model merges technology with kindness and providing accessible, affordable, nonstop service to underserved locations across the United States. The airline — launched in May — avoids the major hubs, and instead focuses on offering nonstop service between such secondary locations as Long Island and Providence, Rhode Island.
Breeze also has a focus on just being “nice,” Neeleman said at the announcement at MacArthur on Monday. In fact, they call their basic fare “Nice” and their upgraded fares “Nicer.”
The Nicer tickets eliminate the worry about add-on fees for luggage and seat selection — the fare includes additional legroom, a carry-on bag, a checked bag, seat choice and priority boarding.
“We just want to be seriously nice,” said Neeleman, who was joined by elected officials, Islip Town Board members, and MacArthur Airport staff at the announcement. “Our mantra has been we’ll get you there twice as fast for half the price.”
With Breeze Airways in the fold, MacArthur Airport now offers nonstop service to more than a dozen locations, including Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Miami, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa and West Palm Beach. Southwest, Frontier and American also fly out of MacArthur.
“Like us, they believe travel should be simple, travel should be fun, and travel should be nice,” Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter said of Breeze. “We thought this sounded great, we believed in it, and we were a good match with this concept and culture.”
Here’s what else you need to know about the novel air service:
- Most flights are about an hour to two hours long, for now.
- Flights start at $39, one-way.
- Focuses on leisure, regional destinations, like Tampa, New Orleans and Palm Beach.
- Neeleman says flight booking, cancellation, contactless check-in, customer service and more can all happen through the Breeze Airways app.
- There are also no change or cancellations fees through Breeze Airways, the founder said.
- Change or cancel your flight up to 15 minutes prior to departure.
- They only sell non-refundable tickets, according to their website, but those who need to cancel or change a flight are issued a credit for the full price of the ticket, including any additional purchased items, such as bags or seats.
- Say goodbye to the middle seat (there are none) and expect leather.
- Breeze Airways provides service to 18 airports: Islip; Palm Beach; Tampa; Charleston, South Carolina; Hartford; Louisville, Kentucky; Norfolk, Virginia; Bentonville/Fayetteville, Arkansas; Akron/Canton, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tulsa, Oklahome; New Orleans; Pittsburgh; Richmond, Virginia; San Antonio, Texas; Huntsville, Alabama; and Providence.
Neelman also mentioned the introduction of six Airbus A220 airplanes in the second quarter of 2022. These specific aircrafts will be added each month for the next 10 years, the founder said. They hold 36 premium seats in a two-by-two configuration, 10 extra legroom seats, and 80 standard legroom seats in a two-by-three configuration, according to this release.
“It has long-distance capability and we can fly to the West Coast no problem,” Neeleman said.
Neelman said the roll-out of new cities remains confidential, but they are looking at West Coast and Mid-Atlantic destinations. The airline on Monday also announced service out of Palm Beach International.
You can click here to book a flight on Breeze Airways’ website through May 2022.
Top photo: Facebook/Breeze Airways
