There’s some exciting news on the flying front for folks traveling to and from Charleston. Direct flights are the way to go. Who needs the hassle of missed connections and lost luggage? No one, that’s who. And Charleston is getting some great new direct flights. More about that in a minute.
CHS - Getting Better By the Day
Charleston International Airport is perpetually in the news. It’s growing by leaps and bounds, currently undergoing a massive $305 million expansion. This comes on the heels of another one that cost almost as much. All this $$$ is well spent, making improvements left and right that directly increase the comfort and convenience for visitors. The facility is getting to be really top-notch. And I must add, they are making the improvements in a smooth way that is not a pain to the public.
Sure enough, as the facility gets bigger and better, more airlines want to fly here. Case in point: as I blogged about last June, Breeze Airways has flown into town as the latest airline to service Charleston.
Breeze is a new airline that was started by David Neeleman, the guy who founded JetBlue. They have a pretty cool motto: to “get you there in half the time, at half the price.” And sure enough, they are offering some pretty incredible fares to and from Charleston.
Right off the bat, Breeze chose Charleston as one of its first four focus hub cities (along with New Orleans, Tampa, and Norfolk).
They kicked off CHS service by offering direct flights from Charleston to eleven cities: Hartford, CT; Tampa, FL; Louisville, KY; Norfolk, VA; Richmond, VA; Akron/Canton, OH; Columbus, OH; New Orleans, LA; Pittsburg, PA; Huntsville, AL; and Providence, RI.
Well, they’re on a roll.
Breeze is At It Again...
Breeze has made a slew of announcements lately, adding more and more cities that you can fly to/from Charleston, nonstop. And there are some really good ones:
San Francisco
Beginning May 26th, Breeze will fly nonstop to San Francisco (SFO) three times per week. Flights will take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Syracuse
Starting June 10th, you can fly direct from Charleston to Syracuse, New York (SYR) twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.
Fort Meyers
Service to Fort Meyers, Florida (RSW) will begin on June 11th. Breeze will fly twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Orlando
Mickey Mouse, here we come! Breeze announced they will be offering nonstop service to Orlando (MCO) beginning June 23rd.
Founder & CEO Neeleman had this to say: “We’re excited to connect our largest base, Charleston, with our newest destination, Orlando. Breeze identifies underserved routes and connects communities that need it. Couple that nice, new nonstop service with our low fares from just $39, and you have the happiest route on Earth!”
White Plains, NY
Beginning June 28th, Breeze will offer DAILY nonstop service to Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, NY. It’s just 30 minutes of Manhattan and a pleasant way to avoid the crush of JFK and Newark.
FYI, Breeze also started offering flights to New York’s Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) back in February.
Viva, Las Vegas!
Nonstop service to Las Vegas (LAS) starts on August 5th. Flights will take off three times a week - Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays.
These are tremendous additions, especially the flights out west. Charleston International is the only airport in South Carolina offering nonstop service to the West Coast. In addition to Breeze’s new service, Alaska Airlines also flies nonstop to Seattle, and JetBlue to Los Angeles.
Breeze Stats
With these new nonstop flights, Charleston has become Breeze’s biggest hub. Neeleman describes Charleston as “red-hot.”
Breeze offers three classes of seats, Nice, Nicer and Nicest. There’s no charge for a checked bag for the middle and top class. They also don’t charge if you need to change or cancel a flight, with flight credit being available for two years.
Breeze began flying Embraer 190 and 195 aircraft, which thankfully have no middle seats. They’re gradually switching over to the more spacious Airbus A220-300 jets, which are also very fuel-efficient. They’ll be adding one a month for the next six years.
You can book flights through their website or the handy Breeze Airways app.
So check out some of these great new nonstop options for the perfect beach getaway with family and friends. Browse our available Isle of Palms oceanfront rentals, luxury homes, pet-friendly accommodations, and more!
All best,
Lowcountry Lisa
your Isle of Palms vacation blogger