Breeze Airways calls off planned Redmond-to-Burbank nonstop flights; Alaska Airlines steps in to fill the gap
Barney Lerten
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — An airline that announced three new destinations from Redmond Airport this summer already has dropped one planned route, months before it was set to start.
Breeze Airways, based in Salt Lake City, had announced in mid-July that it would be serving Redmond starting next spring with non-stop flights to Burbank and Las Vegas and one-stop “BreezeThru” flights to Provo-Salt Lake City.
Breeze says its Las Vegas and Utah flights are still set to begin in mid-March, but “Breeze Airways has confirmed they will not be offering the Redmond to Burbank route as originally planned,” Redmond Municipal Airport Customer Service and Administrative Supervisor Jodi Low confirmed Friday to KTVZ News.
However, Low said Alaska Airlines has followed through on its plans also announced this summer and began daily non-stop service Oct. 26 between Redmond and Burbank.
“This ensures continued direct access to the Burbank area for Central Oregon travelers,” she said.
Avelo Airlines had announced in July it would be ending all of its Redmond flights before the end of the year. But Avelo’s flights to Burbank ended Oct. 20, more than a month earlier than the planned Dec. 1 conclusion, leaving customers scrambling for new flights and refunds.
Breeze Airways representative McKinnley Matson told KTVZ News on Friday that the flights to Las Vegas mean options to connect to other airports in Southern California airports also will be available.
“While we never enjoy cutting service (especially before it begins), we occasionally need to make adjustments to our schedule in order to maximize our limited resources,” Matson told us.
“These cuts are rare, as Breeze continues to maintain one of the highest market retention rates in the industry,” she added.