At a press conference on Monday, Dec. 6, Town of Islip supervisor Angie Carpenter announced a new airline that will fly into Long Island MacArthur Airport, Breeze Airways.

“Breeze Airways holds a special place in our hearts,” said Carpenter. “We’ve been watching Breeze carefully since David Neeleman first visualized the carrier. We had the opportunity to show Breeze Long Island hospitality during the US Department of Transportation air carrier certification process. We believe our professionalism, perseverance, and community support helped showcase our area, bringing this exciting new service to fruition,” added Supervisor Carpenter.

“MacArthur Airport produces thousands of skilled jobs for Long Island and is an economic engine for our region. Breeze is a great win for our airport and our community. We are grateful for the arrival of this new airline, and for our existing carriers – Southwest, Frontier and American. We also expect additional air carriers will see the benefit and opportunity of serving 2.8 million potential customers close to their homes and businesses. MacArthur Airport is clean, comfortable and provides flights to great destinations, as well as a wonderful way to bring friends, family and colleagues to our region,” Carpenter said.

 Commissioner at Long Island MacArthur Airport Shelley LaRose-Arken was excited about the decision at the press conference.

“It is our goal to bring you new airlines that not only fit the culture of this airport, but fit the culture of our region and also all of Long Island,” LaRose-Arken said. “A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into this. It’s been four years since we’ve envisioned a dream, and today a dream is coming true.”

According to chairman and CEO David Neeleman, Breeze Airways will start flying out of MacArthur on Feb. 17, 2022, with flights to Charleston, S.C., and Norfolk, Va.

“Norfolk is a great area; it’s a gateway into the Carolinas area,” Neeleman said. “It’s got Virginia Beach. It’s got golf courses. It’s a great place to visit.”

A huge highlight of the airline is fares starting as low as $39 from MacArthur to Charleston or Norfolk, as well as no change or cancellation fees.

“If you pay $39 and then $50 in change or cancellation fees, that doesn’t work very well,” Neeleman said about the company’s policy. “So, we just say, ‘Okay you can’t come, here’s your credit, you can use it any time.’ We’re not going to charge you to rebook it or cancel or anything like that.”

Suffolk County executive Steve Bellone praised supervisor Carpenter and all the people who worked towards bringing Breeze Airways to MacArthur Airport. 

“Long Island is a great region, we know that,” Bellone said. “And every great region needs a great regional airport. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because there’s leadership and there’s vision.”

Congressman Andrew Garbarino was also on hand at the press conference to offer his support.

“This is a huge deal… as someone who travels out of this airport a lot and I love it,” Garbarino said. “You made the right choice. You’re going to be very successful and I’m sure you’re going to be adding to those destinations.”

Neeleman said Breeze Airways was founded on the concept of being “seriously nice.” They aim to be an airline that is hassle-free and that gets you places quicker at half the cost.

“I’m always telling my kids about being kind, being nice,” Bellone said. “I cannot wait to tell them that we are now welcoming a ‘seriously nice’ airline to Suffolk County.”