AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
New airlines don’t pop up very often, and Breeze Airways is one of the newest in the U.S. The airline was founded in 2018, running its inaugural flight in 2021. The new carrier wants to shake up the low-cost aviation space and be known as the nice airline — in fact, you'll find “nice” sprinkled through its website and offerings.
So, what makes Breeze Airways nice, and is it really as nice as it would like to be?
Page Contents
What Is Breeze Airways?
Breeze Airways is one of the newest low-cost carriers in the U.S. The airline operates mainly in the Southeast. However, since its launch and the inaugural flight on May 27, 2021 from Tampa (TPA) to Charleston (CHS), you can now fly to Los Angeles, San Fransico, and Las Vegas with Breeze Airways.
The airline's CEO and founder is David Neeleman, who also founded Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue Airways, and Azul Brazilian Airlines. Although headquartered in Utah, the airline has most of its hubs in Southeastern cities like Charlestown, Tampa, New Orleans, and Norfolk.
Breeze Airways fleet
As of February 2024, Breeze Airways has 37 aircraft in operation. Breeze operates three types of aircraft as follows:
- Airbus A220-300: 20 aircraft with 60 more on order
- Embraer 190: 10 former Air Canada aircraft
- Embraer 195: 7 former Air Europa Express and Azul aircraft
One thing to note is that while the Airbus aircraft are configured for Nice, Nicer, and Nicest fare buckets, the Embraer aircraft are not. The planes are only configured for Nice and Nicer fare buckets.
Breeze Airways Fare Buckets
Breeze Airways offers three fare buckets called Nice, Nicer, and Nicest. Let's look at what each offers.
Nice fare
This is the entry-level fare and provides the following:
- One personal item must fit below the seat in front of you.
- Earn 2% BreezePoints on your fare.
- No change or cancellation fees.
- 24 months' validity on your voucher if you cancel your flight.
Nicer fare
The Nicer fare bucket takes the level of service you receive up a notch, and you get everything in the Nice fare plus the following:
- One checked bag.
- One carry-on bag.
- Extra Legroom section seat.
- Earn 4% BreezePoints on your fare.
Nicest fare — Breeze Ascent
This is Breeze Airways “premium” offering and features its Breeze Ascent. The Nicest fare included everything from the Nicer fare plus the following:
- Priority boarding.
- Two checked bags.
- Breeze Ascent section seat.
- Unlimited free snacks, drinks, premium drinks, and alcohol.
- Earn 6% BreezePoints on your fare.
You can learn more about seat types and legroom details on this page.
Breeze Airways Routes and Destinations
Breeze Airways operates routes to destinations in more than 20 states. However, a quick look at the Breeze Airways route map shows that most of the airline’s action is on the Eastern seaboard. That said, there are still many options heading out west to cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Santa Ana, and both Ogden and Provo in Utah.
Does Breeze Airways Have Wi-Fi?
According to the Breeze Airways website, the airline has high-speed Wi-Fi. However, that is still being rolled out across the fleet. According to Breeze, all its A220 flights will have Viasat-powered Wi-Fi by early 2024.
The airline's Embraer aircraft do not have Wi-Fi, and by all accounts, there are no plans to install it on board. In terms of purchase and pricing, you cannot pre-book your Wi-Fi, and prices start from $5 per flight one way.
Breeze Airways Cancellation Policy
Breeze Airways has a very flexible cancellation policy, and there are no fees for cancellations or changes. You can cancel or change your flight up to 15 minutes before departure with no fees. That said, the airline only sells non-refundable tickets. This means that you will not receive a cash refund for your purchase. If you cancel your flight, you will receive a flight credit in BreezePoints, covering your fare and any add-ons.
There is one exception with cancellations. For Breeze Airlines flights canceled within 24 hours of booking and at least seven days before the scheduled departure date, Breeze will refund the total amount for your purchase to the original form of payment.
Breeze Airways Baggage Policy and Other Fees
Breeze Airways has a pretty standard baggage policy. When flying on its Nice (economy) fare, fees are as follows:
- Free personal item. It must fit under the seat.
- For carry-on bags:
- $30 for flights that are under 3 hours long.
- $35 for flights that are over 3 hours long.
For checked bags, the pricing is as follows.
- For flights under three hours, the first bag is $35.
- For flights over three hours, the first bag is $40.
- The second bag is $55 on all flights.
- The third bag is $65 on all flights.
One thing to note is that adding a bag at the airport or through the Breeze Airways Guest Empowerment Team, there is a flat fee of $75. Therefore, if you are considering traveling with a checked bag, then a Nicer or Nicest fare is worth considering.
Seat selection will also cost you when flying with Breeze Airways. If you book a Nice fare, seats run from $10 up to $36 (that we have seen). Nicer fares include free Nicer seat selection. The cost of the seats will depend on the seat and the specific flight, as pricing is dynamic.
Free assigned family seating is offered when you fly with children between the ages of 2 and 12. Family seating includes two adults for one child. When more than one child is traveling, family seating will include one adult per child.
Breeze Airways Rewards Program
The BreezePoints rewards program is a simple loyalty program that lets you earn points and redeem them at a fixed rate. Unlike other airline programs, it does not have status levels, tiers, or other related complications.
The program uses BreezePoints as its currency, earned and redeemed for various activities, including flights, add-ons, and more.
To begin earning BreezePoints, you'll need to sign up for a free Breeze Airways loyalty account, which you can do here. Breeze Airlines makes signing up by allowing you to use your Facebook, Apple, or Google login to auto-fill your information.
If some of the information on your social media profile is different than what's shown on your legal ID, you can easily hop onto your Breeze profile and update it. Your information on your ticket must match your legally issued ID, due to TSA regulations, you'll want to make sure everything matches.
The next step to earning BreezePoints is to download the app.
BreezePoints value and calculations
BreezePoints have a fixed value when it comes to earning or redeeming. If you are familiar with the points and miles world, it is no surprise that BreezePoints are valued at (drum roll) 1¢ per point!
That means that Breeze works out everything to do with earning points in cents. For instance, if you earn 4% on a specific item that costs $100, it means you will earn 400 BreezePoints (4% of 10,000 cents).
The same applies to redeeming. If you want to use your points to pay a $50 portion of your fare, you will need to spend 5,000 points.
Ways to earn BreezePoints
Earning BreezePoints is straightforward, and the rate at which you earn depends on your fare class. BreezePoints are earned at the following rates:
- Nice fares earn 2% of the base fare.
- Nicer fares earn 4% of the base fare.
- Nicest fares earn 6% of the base fare.
You also earn BreezePoints for ancillary services like checked bags and seat selection as follows:
- Carry-on and checked baggage purchases earn 4%, excluding overweight and oversized baggage charges.
- Seat selection purchases earn 4%.
- Pet-in-cabin purchases earn 4%.
One thing to note is that not all of your purchases will earn points, and the following items are excluded:
- Government taxes or fees.
- Travel insurance.
- Excess baggage services
Redeeming your BreezePoints
You can redeem your BreezePoints at a rate of 1¢ per point. Points can be redeemed against a wide range of items, including fares, taxes, seat selection, baggage fees, pet fees, and more.
Unlike traditional airline loyalty programs, where you have to search and find award availability, you can redeem your points for any booking. To redeem your points, proceed with a regular booking. On the summary page, you will see the total amount owed and the option to apply some or all of your BreezePoints to the checkout. If there's a seat available, you can pay for it with points.
You can choose how many points to redeem, giving you the option to cover the whole cost of the fare or just part of it.
Do BreezePoints expire?
Your BreezePoints are valid for 24 months from the date they are issued; after that, they expire. You cannot extend the validity of your BreezePoints or reinstate them once they have expired. If you make a booking using your BreezePoints and then cancel it, the refunded points expiration will revert to the original date. However, you can use your points to book a flight that is past the point expiration date. You just need to use them by the expiration date.
Breeze flight credits, which are issued after canceling a reservation or add-on item, are also valid for 24 months from the date of issue. Similar to BreezePoints, if you cancel a reservation made using flight credits, the returned credits will have the same expiration date as the original ones.
Our Take
Low-cost carriers can be an excellent choice if you want to get from point A to point B without many frills and treats. However, low-cost carriers can be frustrating when considering that everything has an additional cost.
By all accounts, Breeze seems interested in flipping this image on its head and is branding itself as a nice airline. It offers good options in a no-frills package without the hassles usually associated with flying low-cost carriers. If this “nice” approach is successful, maybe other carriers will follow suit and start hassling passengers less about every possible upgrade and spending option during the trip.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.