We recently flew Breeze Airways from Oklahoma City (OKC) to Tampa (TPA). Don’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of the airline, as it’s a still in its first year. They launched during the pandemic and that itself have been a major problem for any airline causing delays, diversions and cancellations. The biggest benefit for most with Breeze Airways is that it offers non-stop from Tampa or vacation destinations to cities that other airlines normally blow off such as Bentonville (Arkansas), Tulsa (Oklahoma), West Palm Beach and Oklahoma City.

Some of our favorite things about Breezed Summarized:
1. Non-Stop is the biggest selling point. They have given smaller towns and cities the chance of not spending the entire day with layovers.
2. Up and coming airline that could be the next Virgin America (before they were taken over by Alaska airlines). You just feel much happier flying this airline compared to Spirit or Frontier once you are on board.
3. Two-seats on each side of the plane (and comfortable) – so much better than stuffing in three people to a row.
4. Cancellations and Rebooking really are a breeze: Rebook or cancel up to 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure without penalty.

Cons of Flying Breeze Airways
1. Only one flight per day out of some cities. They may have only one flight out of your city on only certain days of the week so if it is canceled you will have to find another airline to get to your destination. 2. Only a few flights a week such as Thursday or Sunday. For example, out of Oklahoma City they only fly out once a day on Thursdays and you cannot return on a Monday you have to fly back on a Sunday. This caused us to book our flight back on Southwest a few times.
3. No kiosks at some airports.
4. The Breeze Airways app is user-friendly but slow at times. We recommend you use the website and save your boarding pass in your Apple or Google wallet.

Our flight was on a Thursday morning after all of the new airline buzz had died down and the inauguration fanfare had passed. The plane was packed because of lots of bargain hunters looking to excise their pent-up travel demand. 

Booking is mostly a Breeze

We found the Breeze Airways site and app to be impressive for a brand new airline but the app certainly is glitchy but easy on the eyes when it works. Hopefully they are able to take care of some of the app issues although we had no problems at all on the website at FlyBreeze.

Breeze offers just two fare options: Nice and Nicer. It’s a smart touch to market basic economy with a positive spin.

For our one-way from OKC to Tulsa we chose the $84 fare, just on the basis of having a carry-on and wanting the extra legroom. It’s worth noting that the $39/$84 split on this particular route has persisted since launch. There are more expensive days, but seeing a launch fare remain for more than a few weeks is great in terms of setting pricing expectations and letting travelers spread the excitement of a new airline by word-of-mouth.

Flying Experience with Breeze Airways

Flying in to and out of Tampa was for the most part a breeze although our flight was delayed due to staff then the weather but that was under an hour so it wasn’t a problem. This is something you can expect with most flights these days. Tampa and Oklahoma City especially are known to have extreme weather days.

Breeze launched as a “TSA PreCheck airline.” This stands in contrast to the other upstart airline on the west coast which began operations prior to Breeze but still doesn’t offer PreCheck. Historically, new airlines have taken some time to get through the process of becoming a TSA PreCheck partner. I would propose PreCheck benefits are of particular interest, as frequent travelers look to minimize the slow crowds and general hassle associated with the resurgence of leisure travel. The PreCheck line at TPA is normally quick as one would expect at the 23rd-busiest airport in the U.S.

The only problem with my flight is that for some reason it did not give me PreCheck on my flight and I have paid and interviewed for Global Entry. That being said it is not always guaranteed but with Global Entry it normally would be so I found that odd.

Checking into the flight gave me some anxiety because they were very strict on the bag weight and if it goes over it will be an extra $20 on top of the fee you already pay. Breeze also didn’t have a kiosk and you had to check in with one agent then they sent me over to another one to hand over my bag. It seemed a bit unorganized but then again they could be new agents with the great resignation going on right now the new airlines also has to deal with.

In-Flight Experience with Breeze Airways

We welcome the diversity of the Breeze fleet and the opportunity to maintain a small bubble of personal space, particularly given the ongoing global pandemic.

The boarding process seemed much more simpler than that of Delta or United where they have to ask for all these tiers to board first which is a waste of time just to appease all these groups. Airlines that board people with dogs, Military (if this then why not Nurses or Fire Fighters?), children, elite squad number one, elite group number two, platinum, titanium, those that hold a gold credit card, and those with anxiety or for whatever reason is such a joke. We simply just need to board in the order of the seats and drop all the silliness and stop wasting time.

We selected bulkhead seats which had plenty of legroom. The seats were comfortable.

Breeze offered average inflight entertainment with movies and tv shows such as “Last Man Standing”, “Younger” and “Friends”. You do have to bring your own device to use as there was no seat back TV. We did not find a way to use wifi browsing besides watching TV nor did it have Live TV channels such as we enjoy on Southwest Airlines.

Snack service was better than average. The “nicer” fare included a soft drink, a bag of chips, and a KIND bar or peanut butter M&M’s (yeah I had no idea that existed). With most airlines you get a bag of pretzels or nuts or a cookie and a drink for a snack. They didn’t have the seltzer water option which we normally enjoy on other airlines.

Where Does Breeze Airways Fly?

• Akron, OH
• Charleston, SC
• Columbus, OH
• Fayetteville, AR
• Fort Meyers, FL
• Hartford, CT
• Huntsville, AL
• Islip, NY
• Jacksonville, FL
• Las Vegas, NV
• Los Angeles, CA
• Louisville, KY
• Nashville, TN
• New Orleans, LA
• Norfolk, VA
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Providence, RI
• Richmond, VA
• San Antonio, TX
• San Bernardino, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Sarasota, FL
• Savannah, GA
• Syracuse, NY
• Tampa, FL
• Tulsa, OK
• West Palm Beach, FL

Breeze offered a great competitive travel experience at an impressive price. It is clear that the airline’s leadership has invested a lot of thought and capital into entering the market with a competitive product from day one. From booking through to the post-flight survey, we encountered touches of excellence and unexpected delights all along the way.

I hope for the future of the airline industry that Breeze sets the stage for its much larger and smaller peers to follow. If you haven’t flown them yet, you should give it a try to a non-stop destination to visit family or just to enjoy a vacation.