HOSTED BY: 1 AIR TRAVEL
There’s an interesting development when it comes to how you can book flights on low cost carrier Breeze Airways…
Breeze finally partners with an online travel agency
Breeze Airways launched operations around three years ago, but up until now, the only way to book flights with the airline has been direct. That’s why it’s interesting to note that the airline just launched a partnership with Priceline, marking the first time that Breeze is partnering with an online travel agency (OTA).
Priceline is the first OTA to establish a direct API connection to Breeze, providing direct access to Breeze’s inventory. Effective immediately, all Breeze flights are bookable on Priceline. In addition to airfares, customers will also soon be able to purchase fare bundles and ancillaries directly on Priceline as well.
Here’s how Lukas Johnson, Breeze’s Chief Commercial Officer, describes this development:
“We’re excited to work with Priceline, our first-ever OTA partner, to bring Breeze flights to a broader audience. Now Priceline’s many users have another way to book their next getaway on Breeze.”
Meanwhile here’s how Brigit Zimmerman, Priceline’s Chief Commercial Officer, describes this development:
“Priceline is proud to be the first OTA to introduce these routes with Breeze. The collaboration with Breeze Airways marks an exciting expansion of our offerings, reinforcing our commitment to offering unparalleled travel opportunities and best-in-class deals for our customers.”
Book Breeze flights through Priceline
This Breeze development seems long overdue
Airlines of course want you to book directly through their website or mobile app whenever possible. This minimizes distribution costs, provides the most opportunities to sell customers ancillaries, and even offers the best odds of enrolling customers in the frequent flyer program, which can increase the lifetime value of a customer.
The challenge is, OTAs are often a necessary evil for airlines, in order to fill planes. After all, airlines need to be able to appear on sites comparing fares in order to fill planes, even if there’s a cost to it. That’s how a lot of customers shop.
In the case of Breeze Airways, it seems like the airline needs OTAs more than virtually any other airline, so I’m happy to see this development. Breeze doesn’t have much name recognition, and the airline operates a lot of point-to-point routes that the public doesn’t even know exist, yet the only way to book has been directly with the airline.
I’m fascinated to see how the situation at Breeze unfolds in the coming months. The company isn’t publicly traded, so we have limited insights into financials. Based on everything we know (basic financial documents filed with the Department of Transportation), Breeze has been losing massive amounts of money since launch. Like, we’re talking margins of -30% to -100%, give or take.
Yet Breeze management insists that the airline will be profitable in 2024. Is there something about the company’s plans that we don’t know, is management just super optimistic, or what? Only time will tell…
Can Breeze become profitable?
Bottom line
Breeze Airways and Priceline have just launched a partnership, whereby Breeze flights can now be booked through the online travel agency. In the roughly three years since launch, Breeze hasn’t partnered with any OTA, so this is a pretty significant development. I’m curious if we see Breeze partner with other OTAs, or if this is an exclusive partnership, with terms reflecting that.
What do you make of Breeze & Priceline partnering?
Title: Breeze Airways Adds Priceline As First OTA Partner
Sourced From: onemileatatime.com/news/breeze-airways-priceline/
Published Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2024 09:43:49 +0000
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