JetBlue founder launches new airline — here’s what it’s called and where it flies

A brand new airline is landing on U.S. runways — and it’s from the founder of JetBlue.

Breeze Airways could be operational by the end of the year, according to the New York Post. The airline is set to serve mid-sized U.S. cities that don’t normally get many direct flights.

It’s the fifth carrier David Neeleman has created, including JetBlue.

Breeze will be headquartered in Salt Lake City and has already leased a fleet of 30 Embraer jets and ordered an additional 60 Airbus planes. It has also reportedly filed an airline-operating certificate application with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

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Industry experts seem to be optimistic about the brand.

“I’m always skeptical about startups, but Neeleman does have an amazing record and is coming into this with an enormous amount of capital,” Jay Shabat, senior analyst at Skift Airline Weekly, said in a report by travel industry news website Skift.

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Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
JBLU	JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP.	5.96	+0.05	+0.85%

And Neeleman himself has high expectations for the planes, which will have around 120 seats. While the per-seat cost could be much higher than on a larger plane — the average commercial flight holds anywhere between 200 and 500 seats — the overall ticket cost will be lower.

“We only need 50–60 people on board to make it make sense,” Neeleman told Skift.

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“The ability to have the lowest fare is what people want,” he added. “Handling baggage costs money. Providing food costs money. If you want to upgrade your experience, you can do that. I think people will appreciate that. It’s all in the way we present it.”

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