Breeze Says it Gets Undue Attention for Route Cuts

The airline's chief commercial officer says it has cut fewer new routes than its competitors

Dear readers,

Just like you, I have heard the whispers: What’s going on with Breeze’s route network? Why has the airline tried (and failed on) so many new routes?

Breeze chief commercial officer Lukas Johnson knows the criticism. He and his team have tried some high-profile routes with the Airbus A220, hoping it could fulfill missions that no previous airplane could ever handle. This list includes Orange County to Orlando, which ends Oct. 3, and Westchester County to Los Angeles, which fizzled in April. Both were introduced to much fanfare. Breeze has also cut many decidedly less sexy routes over the past two years, like Akron to Hartford.

In an interview last week, I asked Johnson about all the stops and starts. I expected him to say this is part of the process as a startup airline. How else can you know what works without trying it? Instead, he took another approach, sharing what the airline claims is exonerating evidence. By Breeze’s account, the airline has cut fewer routes than the competition.

"If you look at any of the low-cost carriers, since we have launched, we have had the lowest percentage of routes cut since 2021," Johnson said. "I think David [Neeleman] — being the megaphone that he is — gets a lot more scrutiny. We get a lot of attention based on David, and who we are, and how fast we're growing, and the attention we get from other airlines."

Thanks to founder David Neeleman, Breeze attracts attention. Photo: Breeze.

A few days after I talked to Johnson, a Breeze spokesperson sent over proof in the form of a spreadsheet purporting to show that Breeze is no worse at choosing routes than any other carrier. I know any company will choose data sets that put its performance in the best light. But, according to Breeze’s data, Frontier, Allegiant and Avelo are bigger offenders than Breeze — at least on two metrics Breeze prefers.

Data compiled by Breeze Airways.

Cherry-picked data or not, the macro argument makes sense. Last week, when I received my weekly schedule change email update from consulting firm Ailevon Pacific, pulled from Cirium data, I learned that Spirit had removed 10 routes and filed 10 new ones, while temporarily cancelling another 11 routes for winter and resuming four that had been suspended. All in one week! But none had the cachet of Westchester-to-Los Angeles, so I’m not sure anyone questioned the changes or the strategy behind them. Certainly not most journalists.

What do you think of Breeze's argument? Leave a comment, or reply to this email to send me a direct message. I'm interested in your thoughts.

What is going on between Spirit and Breeze?

Speaking of the Breeze/Spirit dynamic, another item caught my attention recently. Just after I finished my story about how U.S. airlines are so differentiated now that they rarely compete with each other anymore, Spirit announced six new routes from the Southeastern United States to Florida that compete directly with Breeze. Spirit soon will fly from Charleston, Norfolk, and Richmond to both Tampa and Fort Myers.

Are we sure there’s enough room for both airlines? I asked Johnson for his take on Spirit’s new routes.

"It is unusual," Johnson said. "If you looked at a lot of the airlines that have come into our routes that were unserved or underserved markets, they've found that the market was too thin for their gauge of aircraft. Some of these markets are quite small. Maybe you can handle two or three a week at a lower gauge like ours. I would suspect there's gonna be a lot of seats in the markets."

I had wondered if this might be a case of retaliation. Johnson didn’t say anything about Spirit adding these routes because of a sense of pique over an unrelated matter, but that’s not unusual; to reporters, executives often deny anything that might get them in trouble with regulators, even if it’s obvious to insiders.

But I ran this by Brett Snyder of Cranky Flier, who explained this may be more of a case of Spirit trying to push Breeze aside and win the markets for itself. Breeze’s E195s flying from Norfolk to Fort Myers have no more than 124 seats, while Spirit’s A320s have 182. By definition, the bigger airplane will have better unit costs, and be more profitable, assuming Spirit can fill the seats.

“It’s just so easy to beat Breeze if the market is big enough,” Snyder said. Spirit has “bigger airplanes and lower costs. The one way Breeze wins is if the market is too small for the other ULCCs.”

Not surprisingly, Johnson said Breeze can win this skirmish regardless of market size, saying passengers will prefer the airline’s better service and amenities, and perhaps pay extra for them.

“When we've had secondary overlap with some of the ULCCs or even some where there's direct airport competition head-to-head, we've seen incredible premium take rate because they don't have that product,” Johnson said. “It's a better, higher-level guest following us.”

What do you think?

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I’ve heard from readers that they enjoy stories about how journalists and bloggers do their jobs, so here are two pieces about reporter-company relations.

The Wall Street Journal stakes out a Boeing exec

If Wall Street Journal reporter Andrew Tangel comes your way, you may want to run away. I'm being facetious, of course. I know some of you work closely with Tangel — some in public and others in the shadows — as you should, because being buddies with a reporter is good for your career. But be warned that Tangel, whom I greatly respect, is an old-school, fearless reporter.

Tangel learned that Boeing's top two executives — CEO David Calhoun and CFO Brian West — were making infrequent appearances at Boeing offices and instead working from their East Coast homes and traveling the world on private jets, information they apparently shielded from the rank-and-file workers. So Tangel showed up at CFO Brian West's office in Connecticut to check it out.

Tangel wrote in the story:

When a reporter entered the New Canaan office through a propped-open door for an unannounced visit on a midsummer Monday morning, Boeing's second-highest-ranking executive was wearing a polo shirt, shorts, and slip-on shoes. West showed a spartan office that he uses, but otherwise declined to comment.

There is some question about whether this is news in the traditional sense. Boeing isn’t requiring many workers to return to the office, and it’s not unusual for a work-from-home employee to take office space. But I credit Tangel for his reporting. Boeing’s a big company that indirectly takes significant taxpayer money, and it deserves more scrutiny than the average firm. Second, kudos to West for his response. According to the story, he didn't get angry or combative. He didn't immediately kick Tangel out of the office, which might have caused a media maelstrom. He respectfully showed the reporter his office and then shooed him out. That quick thinking made West come across better in the story.

You may see some puff pieces about Ethiopian Airlines

Now for a piece about a different type of journalism. Last week, the agency for Ethiopian Airlines contacted me about something my journalism professors never could have fathomed. Publishers could apply for the carrier’s new affiliate marketing program, giving them a chance to "collaborate with Ethiopian while earning competitive commissions." Perhaps they wanted to be one of the airline's "trusted ambassadors" to allow Ethiopian to tap "into a newly engaged audience."

To be clear, this means Ethiopian planned to ask reporters, bloggers and other new media practitioners to write stories about the airline in exchange for a cut of whatever sales the stories might generate.

"The new affiliate program is designed to leverage the influence and reach of publishers, enabling them to promote Ethiopian Airlines' products as well as services and generate bookings through their digital platforms,” the airline said in a release. "Ethiopian Airlines has chosen to partner with CJ Affiliate Marketing Company to ensure seamless management and optimal benefits for all participants."

I understand publishing has changed significantly since I was in school, and I know from this newsletter and the many jobs I had before it that media is not a lucrative industry. I don't begrudge people who take money, but I think it's important to understand that not every piece we read about an amazing airline is 100 percent transparent.

Needless to say, I did not sign up for the program. But I will take your scoops. Send them to brian@theairlineobserver.com.

That’s all for today. As always, thank you for reading.