We recently took our first-ever flight on Breeze Airways, taking advantage of a convenient nonstop route from Orlando (MCO) to Lancaster, Pennsylvania (LNS). It’s exactly the kind of market Breeze is targeting – point-to-point connections between cities and towns that other airlines overlook. Along the way, we got a firsthand look at what Breeze has to offer: from its unique fare bundles to the onboard experience, and even how it handles flying from smaller regional airports.
So what’s it like to fly with Breeze? Here’s what we found, and whether we’d do it again.
Booking Our Breeze Flight: What We Chose and Why
Breeze Airways offers four fare types: No Flex, Nice, Nicer, and Nicest. For this shorter trip, we chose the Nice bundle, which includes a personal item, a carry-on bag, and flexibility for changes or cancellations. It doesn’t include a checked bag or seat assignment by default, but that was fine for our needs since we didn’t plan to check luggage.
We did pay for seat assignments to ensure aisle access, but that fee was reimbursed through the Ritz-Carlton Card’s annual travel credit, making the upgrade cost-free in the end.
Booking Tip: What to Know About Using Points
If you were hoping to use points to book a Breeze flight, there’s a catch. Breeze flights don’t show up in most major travel portals. Currently, Capital One Travel is the only portal that displays them.
However, booking through Capital One comes with limitations: you can’t choose between Breeze’s bundles, and when I contacted Capital One for help, the rep couldn’t offer any options beyond what was already listed online.
Not wanting to gamble on which bundle I’d get, I chose to book directly through Breeze’s website using my American Express Platinum Card. That earned me 5X Membership Rewards points for airfare purchased directly from the airline—no points redemption, but a great earning rate with no guesswork involved.
Check-In and Boarding
The process of checking in for the flight varied greatly depending on the airport. When flying out of MCO, the process wasn’t much different from other carriers. Since we weren’t checking bags, all we had to do was check in online before the flight and go through the TSA checkpoint. Breeze does work with TSA PreCheck and Clear, so no hassles there.
When flying from Lancaster Airport, it was a different story. Since Breeze is the only airline, the process is a bit different (which we’ve already covered in this post).
At these smaller airports, Breeze boards via ramp stairs, which is fine. Unless it happens to be raining when you arrive at the airport.
Yes, it was a wet one. Umbrellas and covered stairs helped.
Aircraft & Seating: What You Get on the A220-300
Breeze operates this route using one of its Airbus A220-300s, a modern and quiet aircraft that’s becoming popular with both airlines and passengers. Onboard, Breeze offers three classes of seating:
– First Class (Breeze Ascent): Three rows in a 2-2 configuration
– Extra Legroom: Nine rows in 2-3 layout with three extra inches of pitch
– Standard Economy: 2-3 layout with 18″ width and 30″ pitch
On our outbound flight, we paid $6 extra for an extra legroom seat, which felt like a bargain for the added comfort. On the return, we chose a standard seat. While noticeably tighter, it was still manageable for a short flight.
Our view from the extra legroom section. The added space was noticeable and worth the small upcharge.
How Breeze Compares to Other Airlines for Comfort
Even the standard seats on Breeze are more comfortable than what you’ll find on many ultra-low-cost carriers. Spirit and Frontier, for example, typically offer just 28 inches of pitch. Breeze’s 30 inches feels noticeably roomier by comparison.
Still, it doesn’t quite compete with JetBlue, where standard seats offer 32–33 inches of pitch and Even More seats provide an additional 7 inches. Breeze fits neatly between the extremes—more comfortable than budget airlines but not quite at the top-tier domestic level.
Cabin and Inflight Experience
The cabin felt fresh and clean. Seats were modern, legroom was decent, and the whole environment felt more relaxed than what you’d expect from a low-cost carrier. Breeze uses light-hearted branding with seatback tags like “Hungry?” and “Thirsty?”, reinforcing their laid-back style. Although there’s no IFE system, USB connections are available at the seats to keep your devices charged.
Of course, you could always spend your time looking out the window.
Buy-On-Board: More Than Just Convenience
Breeze offers a small buy-on-board menu with snacks and drinks. Normally, that’s a nice option to have, but on this flight, it was practically a necessity. Lancaster Airport (LNS) had no vending machines or concessions past the TSA checkpoint. If you didn’t bring a full water bottle or snacks from home, the plane was your only source for anything beyond a sip of water.
About That Wi-Fi…
Breeze advertises inflight Wi-Fi, but we received a message the day before departure letting us know the system would be offline. Sure enough, it was.
Wi-Fi was a no-go. At least we were warned.
Breeze’s Strategy: Filling the Gaps Big Airlines Ignore
At Orlando International Airport (MCO), Breeze has built up a solid presence. One of those routes is to Lancaster, Pennsylvania (LNS)—a city that rarely gets direct service. Breeze is currently the only major carrier flying to LNS. Before this, travelers had to drive to Harrisburg (MDT) for regional flights, or all the way to Philadelphia (PHL) for major airline service.
While Breeze focuses more on smaller airports, they also fly from larger ones, such as Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Their model is that they typically don’t connect two major hubs. And when they do fly into big metro areas like New York or Los Angeles, it’s usually via secondary or tertiary airports, such as White Plains (HPN) or Orange County (SNA). Their goal is clearly to make travel easier between underserved city pairs without the hassle of a layover at a crowded hub.
Final Thought
Breeze Airways sits in a space that’s long needed filling: reasonably priced, nonstop flights between cities that the big airlines don’t bother with. The booking experience was fine, the flights ran on time, and the onboard product felt fresh and clean, even if the Wi-Fi didn’t work.
It’s not JetBlue-level comfort, and you’ll want to bring your own snacks if you’re flying out of a tiny airport like LNS. But if Breeze flies a route you need—and especially if it saves you a layover—it’s absolutely worth considering.
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1 comment
Breeze’s new “First” seats are legit comfy—wide, roomy, with outlets and snack/drink included—but it’s still budget vibes: no screens, Wi‑Fi just rolling out, and you gotta pay extra for snacks if you choose the cheaper tiers . It’s a solid value for cross‑country flights if you jump on deals, but expect smaller airports, possible cleanliness hits, and limited service days .