![]() ![]() In his 20’s, he owned a small home-based Salt Lake City travel company. Neeleman had a fascinating and pivotal role in the startup of Hawaii Express. Back to Hawaii Express and David Neeleman. The company’s COO said that at this point, “It is just a pricing exercise” to find the optimal costs. But Neeleman expects the costs and the difference between the cheapest and most expensive offerings to remain low. We don’t know the airfare prices should Breeze embark on Hawaii flights. Pay an extra 50 bucks for first class, we think people will do that. We’re yet to see what Alaska and Hawaii do in that regard, but respond, they will. You see that in the true premium economy offerings to Hawaii from American, Delta, and United Airlines. ![]() We aren’t alone in that thinking, as virtually every airline, other than Southwest, is of the same mindset regarding premium. His fleet of Airbus A220 planes is premium-heavy, and the airline has dedicated a significant portion of the aircraft to just that. Breeze Airways is not to be overlooked.ĭavid Neeleman believes, and we concur, that there will be an ever-increasing demand for premium leisure travel. The plane has been flying distances longer than the west coast to Hawaii for several years. The A220 planes were originally the Bombardier C Series, which was 50% acquired by Airbus in 2018. ![]() The plane has the capabilities of a fantastic range of 3,798 miles, or 7 1/2 hours, which means that the Hawaiian Islands are accessible from far beyond the west coast’s approximately 2500-mile distance. The company also said they are “In the process with the FAA of getting flag ops added.” That certification means the airline can fly outside the 48 states to Hawaii, Alaska, and internationally. ETOPS, in part, opens routes that include Hawaii to Breeze and other overwater routes. The PW1500G engines that power the plane also received 180-minute ETOPS from the FAA, although, to our knowledge, the final approval for the aircraft is still pending. The Canadian-made Airbus A220 in 2019 received ETOPS-180 from Transport Canada. The other option for Hawaiian is the Embraer E-Jet family. This aircraft family is, by the way, one of the most likely contenders to replace Hawaiian Airlines 717 interisland fleet, which is aged and will need replacement very soon. ![]() Of the 126 seats onboard each aircraft, 36 are its take-on first class with 2×2 seating, while 90 seats are a combination of regular economy and very much extra legroom. The company has 120 purchases and 40 options for these small but mighty planes. Since startup, it went from just 16 eastern US destinations to have an extensive network in 20 states and 35 cities, from the east coast to the west coast.īreeze’s stock in trade is ultra-low-cost travel, although they are now diversifying and moving in on a unique luxury-on-the-cheap paradigm that could well be a winner for Hawaii travel.īreeze’s fleet is based on new Airbus A220 aircraft. Breeze Airways has been flying for less than two years. Not only does JetBlue plan to fly to Hawaii, but Breeze may be in hot pursuit of the same goal.īreeze, like JetBlue, is in the midst of rapid expansion. Not as far-fetched as it may sound, Hawaii has never been far from the travel aspirations of Neeleman. Is David Neeleman’s latest Breeze Airways following in the footsteps of his other airlines, including The Hawaii Express? This could be the next big surprise in Hawaii aviation. Since then, David Neeleman has launched JetBlue, WestJet, Breeze Airways, and Azul Brazilian Airlines. He’s a successful serial airline entrepreneur who was very closely associated with the starting of Hawaii Express Airlines in the early 1980s. David Neeleman is a name very familiar to Hawaii and to travel aficionados too. ![]()
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