The title may have caught your attention with this one. If you’re like me and want to optimize your budget when traveling, you’ve probably gained interest in some of the more budget-friendly airlines like Spirit, Avelo, and Frontier. After all, if you can find the right options, the flight is where you can save a lot of money.
So, where does Breeze fit into the picture?
Breeze Airways is a newer airline on the market that got started a couple of years ago. The tagline they go by is “seriously nice.” While I was in Phoenix, Arizona, on an extended trip across the country, I decided to give them a shot and see if they lived up to that claim. Plus, I did it on “hard mode” by choosing the cheapest seats (what they categorize as “nice”).
Here’s how my experience went with Breeze.
The Purchasing Process
Before we get to the actual flight, I’ll go over a bit about how purchasing my ticket went.
Essentially, purchasing with Breeze was pretty much the same as every other airline. It was simply choosing the destination I was flying out from and going to. The tricky part was figuring out how to populate one-way tickets since that was what I wanted. But I figured out that if you simply choose the same date twice, that’ll do the trick.
The other thing you’ll want to keep in mind with Breeze is there won’t be many flight options. They typically have two or three flights per week out of most locations, and you’ll be very limited on the times of day you have to choose from. In my instance, the only option was bright and early at 8 A.M. (I’m not a morning person, so that was an experience).
Seat Classes and Bag Fees
After all that, it’s simply choosing which class of seats you want and if you have any carry-ons or bags you want checked.
The seat classes are in the categories of nice, nicer, and nicest. Nice (the one I chose) is similar to economy seats on other airlines. Nicer is similar to coach seats. And nicest is the Breeze version of first class. All the options are pretty affordable compared to other airlines.
When you choose the “nice” option that I did, you don’t get a carry-on or checked bag with your ticket, so that’ll cost extra. However, it’s a nice flat rate of $20 for any bag you want to carry on or check. It’s a nice streamlined pricing solution.
That said, from what I’ve researched, it’s worth noting that it looks like longer flights sometimes charge $25-29 for a bag. But that’s still very reasonable.
The Arrival and Boarding Process
Once I arrived at the Phoenix airport, the typical check-in process was pretty similar with Breeze as every other airline. Breeze qualifies for TSA pre-check, so you will be able to skip some lines if you’re qualified for that.
As far as actually boarding the plane, if you’re wondering if the ability to skip the line with first class is worth it for Breeze, I’d probably say it’s not. Boarding was really fast and simple. I think it was even smoother with Breeze than other airlines, so I wouldn’t really worry about that as the end all be all of your decision.
The Experience on the Plane
When I got on the plane, I was really surprised by how nice it was. The seats looked nice and comfy, and the walkways were overall very roomy, at least by my standards.
The one thing I will say is the overhead space for carry-on bags is a bit smaller than what I’ve experienced with other airlines. So, if you carry some bulkier luggage, watch out for that.
Otherwise, it felt like the typical setup on the plane. The “nice” seats (the economy option I chose) were three to a row, and the “nicer” coach-level seats on the other side were two to a row for some extra space. Then you had the first-class (nicest) seats up front that were two to a row.
Overall, I felt like my nice seats were spacious enough and felt comparable to economy seats on other airlines. I’m a smaller guy (5’8” and 165 lbs), so I usually don’t have issues feeling too cramped on seats. However, if you were bigger and bulkier, I could see the justification for opting for the roomier nicer or nicest seats, which are still pretty affordable with Breeze.
The seats themselves also had a nice plush and comfy headrest on them (see picture below). The flight I was on was only going to Salt Lake City, Utah, so it was only an hour long. That said, if you were on a longer flight, that extra comfort would really go a long way.
Amenities
The main drawback with Breeze is a lack of some amenities. There isn’t any Wi-Fi on most flights, and none of the planes have TV screens. I never use either on flights since I’m too cheap to pay for Wi-Fi, but that will be a drawback for some. I’m always fine just downloading some music, videos, and books on my laptop or iPad that’ll keep me entertained throughout.
As far as food and drinks, that’s also pretty limited. You can get a glass of water or coffee for free. However, anything else like soda, snacks, or alcohol will cost extra. Plus, the actual servings of food you get for the price are pretty bad. But I was just on a one-hour flight, so that didn’t matter to me. But be prepared for that if you’re on a longer flight.
Are the Flights Through Breeze Safe?
One of the primary concerns everyone has when choosing a cheaper airline is safety. So, I’ll tackle this question from two angles: my experience and the actual safety ratings.
From my experience on a short flight, the plane took off, traversed, and landed smoothly. I had no safety concerns while on the plane, and they appeared sturdy and well-structured.
For actual safety ratings, Breeze ranks out very well. AirlineRatings.com gives them a 7/7 rating for safety. That’s based on whether an airline has had a fatal crash in the last 5 years, if they’ve passed all their mandated audits, and if there have been any pilot-related incidents. So far, in Breeze’s short span of operations, there have been no major incidents.
My Overall Experience with Breeze Airways
Overall, I have no real complaints about my experience with Breeze Airways. The flights were cheap, easy to board and exit, and the seats were pretty comfy, considering I bought the cheapest ones.
My Overall Rating of Breeze Airways: ★★★★☆
If I were to give it an overall rating, I’d say Breeze is about a 4 out of 5. I’m docking them for the lack of amenities, and I have heard a decent number of people have had customer service issues with them. I didn’t have a need to contact customer service myself, but it’s something to keep in mind.
That said, if you’re in need of a cheap flight, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with Breeze again. I’d say I probably prefer them over other budget airlines like Spirit and Frontier.
That’s my two cents on Breeze Airways. Hopefully, this review helped you while trying to decide if you want to fly with them. Thanks for reading!
