Springfield welcomes Breeze Airways flight delay notwithstanding

Everything seemed to be in place for a triumphant welcome for Breeze Airways to Springfield Friday. There were balloons all over the terminal. There were Disney princess cosplayers. Even Abraham Lincoln came in to join on the fun.

Just one thing was missing: the plane that would carry the first passengers from Springfield to Orlando on Breeze.

Flight 249, with scheduled non-stop service from Orlando International Airport, was delayed until 5:30 p.m. Gareth Edmondson-Jones, a spokesperson for Breeze, said that a maintenance issue prevented the flight from arriving in Springfield by the scheduled 11:45 departure time.

Mark Hanna, executive director of the Springfield Airport Authority, said that passengers had been notified and would continue to be kept abreast of the situation.

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Despite the delay, city officials welcomed the airline to Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, hailing the new opportunities that having direct flights to and from Orlando and Tampa would bring to the Springfield area. Ed Curtis, chairman of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, noted the many opportunities for recruiting employees that the new flights would have, particularly in the healthcare sector, in addition to those seeking a nice vacation to central Florida.

"We're in a desperate need to continue to recruit and retain professionals in medicine and all allied health professions," said Curtis, president and chief executive of Memorial Health. "Having flights like this matters. People care deeply about the community in which they live in and having some of those leisure opportunities to travel to Orlando and Tampa are going to be a real addition for us."

For some officials, the introduction of Breeze to Springfield was proof positive that they could attract airlines and popular routes to Capital Airport. Frank Vala, chairman of the Airport Authority Board of Commissioners, said that due to the work of Hanna, his lieutenant Ken Boyle, the board and civic leaders, they had managed to avoid the fate of many similar-size airports that recently lost all air travel.

"In the airline industry, it's been very tough," Vala said. "Fifty-one cities have lost all airline service. We have been fortunate to keep some and introduce another new airline that chose Springfield as their first place to be in Illinois. There's a fact in life that a butterfly can fly with a loss of 73% of its wings. Let me tell you, we've got two of those butterflies and that's our executive director, Mark Hanna, and our deputy director, Ken Boyle. Without those two and their perseverance and tenacity, we would not be introducing Breeze Airways today."

Breeze brands itself as a "Nice Low-Cost Carrier" that provides no change or cancellation fees up to 15 minutes before departure, allows families to sit together free of charge and has bundled and a la carte pricing at three levels – Nice, Nicer and Nicest, which automatically includes the first-class Breeze Ascent level with complimentary food and drink along with recliner seating in the front of the plane.

Nice pricing, for now, sits at $29 one-way for both Orlando and Tampa routes. The Orlando and Tampa routes will be offered Mondays and Fridays until Jan. 10, when the Orlando route switches to a Wednesday-Saturday schedule.

Breeze's communications specialist, Ryne Williams, said the airline wants to come in and keep airline service going in locations where major airlines may be reducing or eliminating service.

"After the pandemic, a lot of airlines are limiting their service to underserved destinations like Springfield," Williams said. "That's where we have our bread and butter. We want to come in and add new service to these communities and allow residents to fly to some really nice destinations. That's what we're all about – being 'Seriously Nice.'"

Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher declared Dec. 1 as "Breeze Airways Inaugural Flight Day," noting the new connection that may come from having direct flights between Springfield, Orlando and Tampa.

"The introduction of this service signifies a milestone for our community, opening doors for enhanced connectivity, economic opportunities and creating more efficient travel pathways between Springfield and Orlando," Buscher said. "Breeze Airways, with its commitment to providing a seamless travel experience, exemplifies excellence in the aviation industry and has chosen our beloved city as a key destination, demonstrating confidence in Springfield's growth and potential."

Through all of the pomp and circumstance, the question remained whether the new partnership will help lead to growth for the airport.

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Vala and Hanna pointed out that Springfield customers would need to get on board, literally and figuratively, for the new partnership to be successful.

"If (the demand) meets the supply, what that means for the airport is that there's opportunities to grow," Hanna said. "We've been doing a lot of work – updating, modernizing facilities in order to facilitate air passenger service. A lot of that just doesn't happen overnight and it has to happen with the demand from the community and our region."

If Friday is any indication, they'll have passengers not just from the Capital City, but from across central Illinois. Phil Mikalik, of Bloomington, was taking his family to Orlando for a $78 round-trip ticket.

"I wanted my grandkids and great-grandkids to start this new adventure," Mikalik said. "We're going to go to Disney World."

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Delayed flight doesn't stop celebration of Breeze Airway's arrival