Labor shortages and supply chain issues are forcing Breeze to delay route launches and trim flights on some existing services. Over the past week, various US airports have had scheduled Breeze services curtailed or postponed. Breeze isn't the only airline struggling to service their summer timetables, but the ambitious startup has expanded quickly and now finds itself in the unenviable situation of overpromising and underdelivering.

Breezes postpones route launches and curtails capacity on some other routes

In the last seven days, Utah-based Breeze Airways has suspended its seasonal service between Hartford (BDL) and Akron (CAK) less than one month after it began because of labor shortages. Flights due to start this week between Providence (PVD) and Los Angeles (LAX) were also suddenly postponed until next February owing to "crew availability and other supply chain issues."

Charleston (CHS) is particularly hard hit by Breeze's sudden capacity cuts. The airline's flights to Las Vegas (LAS), due to start in August, will now start in September. On other Breeze routes out of CHS, all flights to Huntsville (HSV), Palm Beach (PBI), and Louisville (SDF) are suspended for up to several months, while services to New Orleans (MSY) are cut by half.

"Unfortunately, we have to make some adjustments to our summer flight schedule due to the constraints of crew availability and other supply chain issues," said a Breeze spokesperson. "We are very saddened to have to make these changes and are deeply apologetic for the impact this will have on our guest's summer travel plans. We are committed to restoring flights once we can confidently provide reliable and efficient service."

Breeze Airways Airbus A220-300
Photo: Airbus.

Labor shortages not a problem just for Breeze Airways

Most US airlines, not just Breeze, are struggling to meet their 2022 summer timetable commitments. Across the board, US airlines have cut their schedules by 15% this summer compared to their published schedules at the start of the year. The airline industry's inability to staff enough flights to meet passenger demand is at the heart of the problem. That's due to a few factors, including airlines letting too many employees walk during the pandemic and passenger demand rebounding quicker than airlines anticipated.

Breeze wasn't flying before the pandemic. The airline only started flying in May 2021, so it didn't have employees on its books to lose during the worst days of COVID-19. But now, the competition for airline industry employees is intense, and it looks like Breeze can't find (or retain) people fast enough to meet its rollout commitments. Since its startup, Breeze has expanded to serve 30 cities with a fleet of 13 Embraer E190 and six Airbus A220-300 jets. Notably, despite the anticipated ramp-up of service this summer, two of those Airbus jets are parked.

Breeze Airways Route Map June 2022
Breeze's June 2022 route map. Image: Breeze Airways

The big airlines, facing labor shortages of their own, are plucking staff en masse from smaller airlines like Breeze. Arizona-based Mesa Airlines, a bigger outfit than Breeze, lost nearly 5% of its pilots in April to larger airlines, a situation that the airline's CEO called unsustainable.

The upshot is airlines across the US are pulling out of destinations and curtailing services. But a new airline like Breeze can ill afford to gain a reputation for over-promising and underdelivering, whatever the reason. When a new airline like Breeze, with its penchant for talking big, pulls out of a route just a week or two before it was due to launch, it isn't a good look.