Breeze, Avelo Increase Raleigh-Durham Presence

U.S. carriers Breeze Airways and Avelo Airlines are expanding their footprint at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) as air service from the North Carolina airport continues to grow.

Breeze has announced plans to add flights to Las Vegas and Tampa from Sept. 7, offering three roundtrips per week on each route using Airbus A220-300s.

Having commenced operations at RDU in February, Breeze initially provided service to Hartford Bradley, New Orleans and Providence. The airline has progressively expanded its network and now operates flights to eight destinations from the airport, with a ninth destination set to be added later this month.

Fellow LCC Avelo is also strengthening its network from Raleigh-Durham by inaugurating routes to Memphis and Rochester. Both destinations will receive two flights per week. Additionally, the carrier will begin nonstop 2X-weekly service to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport on June 21, Wilmington Airport on June 22 and Melbourne Orlando International Airport on June 23.

OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that by early July, Breeze will be offering 2,820 weekly departure seats from RDU, giving it a 1.6% share of capacity available. Avelo will provide 5,859 seats for a capacity share of 3.3%.

The growth of the two carriers comes as RDU is embarking on a $650 million phased construction program to support growth in passenger volume between now and 2040. In March, Balfour Beatty and Metcon were appointed to help deliver the project. The work includes the land-side expansion of Terminal 2, as well as associated roadway and car-parking infrastructure improvements.