Breeze Airways will begin flying nonstop between the Triangle and West Palm Beach, Florida, in June, picking up a route that another low-cost carrier, Avelo, is suspending for the summer.
Breeze will fly between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport on Mondays and Fridays starting June 21. The airline hopes to offer the service close to year-round but may suspend it if demand flags, said spokesman Ryne Williams.
“This route will run for almost all of the year, but it may not fly during some lower travel periods,” Williams wrote in an email.
Breeze and Avelo are young airlines that began flying in 2021. Both offer low fares and seek to serve markets that other carriers don’t. They both also change their schedules seasonally, to fly to places when demand is greatest.
Avelo Airlines was the only carrier flying between RDU and West Palm Beach when it established the flight in February 2023. Avelo flew three days a week initially, pared it back to two in the fall and will suspend it after Saturday.
Avelo expects to resume flying between RDU and Palm Beach International in November, said spokeswoman Courtney Goff.
“We’ve noticed through our experience with this route that PBI does great in the fall/winter/spring, but demand lowers in the summer months,” Goff wrote in an email.
Ending the Florida flight frees up a plane and crew for Avelo to fly nonstop between RDU and Albany, New York, starting May 10. The carrier expects to fly that route on Mondays and Fridays and may continue year-round, Goff said.
With the addition of West Palm Beach, Breeze Airways will fly nonstop to 18 destinations from RDU, including Los Angeles and San Diego. The carrier also announced that it will add a third flight a week to Westchester County Airport just north of New York City from June 26 through October.