Breeze Airways announced March 8 it is launching nonstop service from Jacksonville International Airport to seven cities, including Las Vegas.
The other destinations are Columbus, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; New Orleans; Providence, Rhode Island; Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia.
“This is a really great day for Breeze and for Jacksonville,” Breeze founder and CEO David Neeleman said in a news release. “We like to think of ourselves as the Seriously Nice airline, bringing friendly service, low fares and nonstops to places that need them, so you don’t have to drive long distances or fly through connecting hubs. With Breeze, we’ll get there twice as fast, for about half the price.”
Salt Lake City-based Breeze was founded by Neeleman, who also started JetBlue Airways. It began service in 2021 and has been expanding. The Jacksonville service is part of 35 new routes and 10 cities announced March 8.
“This is the single largest air service announcement in the airport’s history,” Jacksonville Aviation Authority CEO Mark VanLoh said in a release. “Breeze Airways’ arrival in Jacksonville will be a game changer for Northeast Florida. The airline will offer service to several of our largest unserved markets. We look forward to their continued growth at JAX.”
At a news conference at JIA announcing the service, Mayor Lenny Curry said his administration will ask City Council for $1 million to market the service and as an incentive for Breeze.
“These flights will tap an unserved market to major cities,” Curry said. “They currently have no direct flights to or from Jacksonville including our sister military cities like Norfolk. Virginia. This is also one step closer to a goal that I and others have to have a direct flight to San Francisco at some point.”
Introductory promotional fares are $49 to $99 one way and the service to the cities won’t start all at once.
Here is the rollout schedule and days of the week the flights will be offered:
May 19: Richmond (Thursday and Sunday)
May 27: Columbus (Friday and Monday); New Orleans (Friday and Monday); Providence (Friday and Monday); Norfolk (Friday and Monday)
June 3: Hartford (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Monday)
Aug. 5: Las Vegas, (Friday, Saturday and Monday)