By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) – The guardian firm of recent low-cost U.S. air service Breeze Airways stated on Wednesday it had closed a $200 million Collection B funding spherical led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock IncBLK.N and Knighthead Capital Administration LLC.
Breeze Aviation Group Inc beforehand raised greater than $100 million and started flights in late Might. Breeze is now serving 16 U.S. cities and 39 routes. The corporate stated it would use the funding to develop operations.
Breeze Chief Government David Neeleman stated on Wednesday the service has had greater than 100,000 passengers since launching operations.
Breeze at present has 13 airplanes and is specializing in flights between smaller U.S. cities which have little or no direct service from bigger carriers. Breeze is serving cities like Tampa, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans, Norfolk, Virginia, Louisville, Kentucky; Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hartford, Connecticut, and Akron, Ohio.
Neeleman stated in an interview the brand new funding confirmed the airline was “right here to remain.” He stated the funding would permit the airline to “be opportunistic about some airplanes that is perhaps obtainable.”
He stated the airline needed to work to develop the brand new routes that aren’t served by different direct flights.
“It is simply getting the phrase out,” he stated, including Breeze was worthwhile on many routes on a variable value foundation. “We’re off to a superb begin.”
Breeze plans to start taking supply of 60 new Airbus AIR.PA A220 plane beginning in October, which will probably be delivered at a fee of about one per thirty days for the following 5 years.
It plans to make use of the A220 plane on routes longer than two hours’ flight time.
It’s Neeleman’s fifth industrial airline startup, together with JetBlue Airways Corp JBLU.O and Canada’s WestJet. He stated Breeze is the “most capitalized startup in U.S. aviation historical past by far.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Modifying by Peter Cooney)
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