Whirlwind success
Airline passengers make their way out onto the tarmac as they disembark from their Breeze Airways flight at Vero Beach Regional Airport. KERRY FIRTH PHOTOS
Breeze Airways’ Vero routes exceed projections
BY KERRY FIRTH
Vero Beach Regional Airport Director Todd Scher said he is pleased with the success of Breeze Airways.
Attracting passengers for commercial air travel in Vero Beach has been a breeze for Breeze Airways, which launched flights to and from Vero Beach in February 2023. Breeze is the only carrier to serve the airport since Elite Airways departed in July 2022.
Initially, Breeze’s schedule consisted of just twice-weekly flights to both Hartford, Connecticut, and Westchester, New York. The frequency of flights was quickly expanded to keep up with the demand. A Providence, Rhode Island, route was added in November followed by nonstop flights to Islip, New York, in December.
“So far this year — from January through April — we see Breeze flights flying at 61% to 86% capacity, which is very good for an airline,” said Vero Beach Regional Airport Director Todd Scher. “And last summer, when they were flying a reduced flight schedule, they often had load factors in the high 80s and low 90s. There is obviously a very high demand for flights in and out of the Northeast and Vero Beach.”
The flights to Islip were paused for the summer months — not because the route wasn’t meeting expectations but simply because it was planned to be seasonal.
“When Breeze first approached us in late summer of 2022, they told us they would send us a letter of intent to start serving the airport with four to six flights per week,” Scher recalled. “They anticipated, after the first year and a half, they may go up to eight flights a week or 24 flights a month. They kept getting busier and busier to the point where, in January, February, March and April of this year, they were flying 115 flights per month. We were overwhelmed and it seemed like every time we turned around there was another flight. When they announced they were going to drop back to 35 flights per month during the summer, we were quite honestly a bit relieved.”
TURBULENCE
Scher acknowledges that there have been growing pains. “We’ve had our share of challenges, but we are addressing them as quickly as we can,” he said. “Most of the challenges have been related to our facilities.”
One big issue for passengers is beyond the control of airport administrators: the scheduling of TSA security personnel.
“We do not staff TSA and therefore can’t do anything but advise our passengers that TSA shuts down at 9 p.m.,” Scher said. “So even if our passengers have been notified that their flight has been delayed and won’t leave until 10:30, for example, they still have to check in before the TSA personnel leave or they will not be allowed to board the plane.”
Another complaint is the small airport’s current supply of parking. “Free parking is a huge draw to Breeze passengers, but we found that our parking lots were filled during our peak months from Thanksgiving through Easter,” said Scher. “Fortunately, we had overflow parking on the grass available to us and there are plans to pave some of the grassy parking areas before next season.”
Additionally, there’s not enough space in the terminal building for loading and unloading an airplane that carries 130 passengers. “At any given time, you can see people lined up out the front door of our terminal building waiting to check in — and an equal number of people lined up the other way, waiting to pick up a rental car,” Scher said.
Some passengers are dissatisfied with the current baggage claim arrangements. “Currently our baggage claim is outside, which is not ideal — especially in inclement weather,” Scher admitted. “We’re about to spend $1.2 million to put in a new arrival corridor with covered walkways and a covered baggage claim area. It’s still going to be outside, but there will at least be protection from the sun and the rain. Most of that is financed with FDOT money but we have a 20% matching grant, which will be paid with airport revenue derived from our tenants. We don’t use any of the City of Vero Beach’s general tax fund revenue.”
The terminal is also being reconfigured to free up space for passengers to exit the premises without crowding the lobby to CJ Cannons restaurant. ADA-compliant bathrooms will be built in the former banquet rooms and a formal exit passageway will simplify leaving the airport. There will be just enough room to put the rental car kiosk in that area, which will free up some space in the main terminal building.
TAKING OFF
Outgoing Breeze Airways passengers crowd the small terminal at Vero Beach Regional Airport.
Currently, there are no plans to expand the runways. “The only way we could do that is with federal funding and that wouldn’t be granted unless we reach our FAA established capacity, in terms of the number of operations per year,” Scher explained. “That magic number is in the low 300,000 operations per year. In 2023, we did 207,000 operations, so we are nowhere near that capacity.
“But we’ve seen a lot of people who want to build on airport property. Five years ago, we couldn’t give it away. Now, with so many people moving into our area, we’ve got a lot of South Floridians wanting to build hangars for their own planes and, as a business, to rent out hangars to other plane owners. Companies want to build hangars for maintenance, repair and overhaul of corporate jets. The businesses on the field are called fixed-based operators or FBOs. They are essentially a gas station for airplanes, but some have concierge services and maintenance, as well. Basically, they cater to the needs of corporate jets.”
Scher emphasized that they are not looking for any more commercial carriers.
“We are happy with Breeze and they came to us; we didn’t solicit them. We are happy they are here and thriving, but we are not marketing ourselves in any way.”
Breeze is happy with its Vero Beach partnership, as well. Its original business plan kept them unprofitable for the first three years. Yet, just last March — right around the two-year mark — they turned their first profit. Breeze CEO David Neeleman said he believes that flying full planes in and out of Vero Beach Regional Airport helped achieve that milestone. Neeleman anticipates flying 30 flights a week out of Vero Beach during the upcoming winter season and possibly basing planes at the regional airport.
Scher attests that Breeze has broken passenger records every month in Vero. This year, they had flown more than 24,600 passengers by the end of March.
That eclipses the numbers achieved by Elite Airways, which carried a total of 11,000 passengers during 2018 — its best year.
“I think one of the reasons Breeze has done so much better than Elite is because they market to families instead of businessmen — and their rates are substantially lower,” said Scher. “That, and Vero Beach has elevated itself as a desirable destination to people in the Northeast.”
This summer, Breeze will be flying reduced schedules between Vero Beach and Hartford, Westchester, and Providence. They’ll resume flights to Islip in October. There is also a possibility they will add more destinations in the Northeast. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Portland, Maine are under discussion.
Visit flybreeze.com for schedule times and ticketing.
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