New low-cost carrier Breeze Airways plans to expand after raising more than $200 million in its latest round of funding, which closed Wednesday.

The funding round, which included funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and Knighthead Capital as well as additional funding from earlier investors, brings Breeze to more than $300 million in startup capital.

CEO and chairman David Neeleman, who has founded several other carriers including JetBlue and WestJet, said that has made Breeze “the best-funded startup in U.S. aviation history.”

• Related: Norse Atlantic Airways anticipates launching in summer 2022

Breeze, which aims to serve midsize U.S. city pairs that do not have direct air connections, started flights in May and now operates 39 routes between 16 U.S. cities. Its current fleet consists of 13 single-class Embraer aircraft, and their average flight length is two hours.

The carrier plans to add longer routes when it begins taking delivery 60 Airbus A220 aircraft in October. Breeze expects to receive about one A220 per month for the next five years, according to the carrier.

Source: Business Travel News

Source: Read Full Article