Southern Connecticut will become a battleground for two discount airlines.
On Tuesday, Breeze Airways announced plans to introduce 10 routes from Tweed Airport in New Haven, Conn., where Avelo maintains its primary East Coast base and is the only commercial airline.
Breeze's New Haven offerings will have an emphasis on Florida, including December flight launches to Fort Myers, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Vero Beach, and February launches of Jacksonville and Sarasota flights.
Breeze's four other New Haven flights will serve Charleston, S.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Richmond, Va.; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Breeze will compete with Avelo on six of the 10 routes.
Breeze's New Haven move follows Avelo's announcement in late July that it would begin service from Bradley Airport north of Hartford Conn., a Breeze base. Included in the Hartford service is Avelo's first routes outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Flights to Cancun and Montego Bay will start in November.
An Avelo plane takes off from Tweed Airport in New Haven. Photo Credit: Avelo Airlines
In a release announcing the New Haven news, Breeze chief commercial officer Lukas Johnson said, "From day one our playbook has included significant growth across the Northeast region of the U.S. due to the high population density and limited nonstop travel options. As a result, our unique model of air service has been a game-changer for this area of the country, giving residents affordable flights from convenient airports such as Hartford, Westchester County, Providence, Stewart-Newburgh, and now, New Haven."
This month, Avelo is flying 26 routes from New Haven, Cirium data shows. Breeze is flying 18 routes from Hartford.
Breeze said Tuesday that it intends to further grow at Hartford, including the addition of international service, in the coming months. The airline is in the final stages of securing certification for international flying and intends to begin selling international destinations before the end of the year.
Breeze and Avelo each launched in the spring of 2021. The carriers differ markedly from a fleet perspective, with Avelo focusing on older Boeing 737NG aircraft and Breeze moving toward flying only new Airbus A220 small mainline jets. Both airlines emphasize leisure flying.