Two-year-old Breeze Airways plans to add more summer services after beginning flights to Orlando and Charleston, South Carolina, from Charleston, West Virginia.
Breeze uses its low-cost carrier status to boost demand, unlike other airlines, which find out where customers want to travel and then try to grab demand.
United or American would never establish a Charleston-to-Charleston route because they know not enough passengers take connecting itineraries to make it economical.
Breeze thinks that by offering such an inexpensive link to an underserved market, people would travel between the cities who would not have before.
Strategic marketing
Breeze’s marketing hinges on convincing residents of each city to visit the other. Breeze promotes destinations alongside local tourist agencies.
Breeze shows Charleston, SC residents that a weekend travel to Charleston, WV is worth more than the airline’s $70 roundtrip tickets.
These methods help everyone. Tourism boosts both Charlestons’ economies. Vacations are economical and memorable. Finally, Breeze fills their Embraer 195s efficiently.
Example: Charleston-Orlando.
The carrier’s newest flights connect West Virginia’s capital to South Carolina’s largest city and America’s theme park capital.
West Virginian’s vacation in Orlando or Charleston. Since rates are so low, Charleston locals may travel to sunny Southern places more easily than ever.
Breeze’s new nonstop connections cost less than a tenth of United, Delta, or American’s $1,000 roundtrip connecting trips.
Charleston traffic is not enough to make routings to Orlando and Charleston viable (otherwise legacy airlines would service these routes). Thus, a marketing plan that introduces Charleston, SC, and Orlando residents to West Virginia’s amazing tourism attractions is essential to this route’s success.
Thus, Breeze invited media outlets (including Simple Flying), bloggers, and social media influencers to join the maiden flight and a West Virginia Department of Tourism trip last week.
The benefits of visiting West Virginia have never been clearer thanks to both groups.
A weekend getaway state
Our media party was taken an hour across the state’s beautiful hills to New River Gorge National Park, the National Park Service’s newest. An invited radio broadcaster called in to comment on the drive’s beauty.
The park’s activities were intriguing. After rafting the nation’s best rapids and eating a picnic lunch at the newly renovated visitor’s center, one may walk the Appalachians’ most scenic paths.
The fall view, with rolling hills of orange and crimson trees, is better than the summer scenery. Ski resorts nearby guarantee year-round appeal.
The New River Gorge Bridge, the area’s most impressive attraction, hasn’t been highlighted. Visitors may stroll on a small catwalk beneath this iron bridge 876 feet above the roaring river below.
Every 18-wheeler passing overhead shakes the tiny catwalk, yet staring at the river and hills below calms your anxieties. It’s a must-try.
Chef Paul Smith, a James Beard nominee from West Virginia, served our group a sumptuous lunch after crossing the bridge. The chef showcased local delicacies with pepperoni buns and smoked fish.
