JetBlue Founder Finally Offers Details About His New Airline — Including Its Name
Photo Credit: David Neeleman has great plans for his new U.S. airline, to be called Breeze Airways. Pictured is one of the airline's Embraer E195 jets. Breeze Airways
Skift Take
David Neeleman's new airline promises to have good service at competitive prices. That's his strategy at every airline, and it's commendable. But Neeleman is also planning to operate what is essentially two business models at once. Can he pull it off?
When David Neeleman's startup airline, to be called Breeze Airways, begins flying as soon as late this year, customers may focus on its passenger experience, which Neeleman, who founded JetBlue Airways 20 years ago, says will be among the best in the United States. But from a business perspective, Neeleman’s airline is more intriguing for another reason — the chronic airline entrepreneur is pursuing two models at once.
At first, Breeze, which filed Friday for an operating certificate with the U.S. Department of Transportation, will be an Allegiant Air clone, albeit with better service — Neeleman is calling his new carrier “The World’s Nicest Airline” — and fewer fees. Like Allegiant in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Breeze will fly an older, used aircraft no other U.S. carrier wants on routes with little or no competition. Because these airplanes, the Embraer E195, are so cheap to acquire, Breeze may fly them as few as four hours per day and still make money.
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