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Breeze Lands Atlantic City Flights as It Moves to Become MYR’s Top Airline

Breeze Lands Atlantic City Flights as It Moves to Become MYR’s Top Airline

Breeze Airways flew its first nonstop between Myrtle Beach International Airport and Atlantic City on Thursday, Oct. 22, nine days after announcing 11 new routes for 2027 that the carrier says will make it the largest airline at MYR by seats and destinations, filling much of the hole left when Spirit Airlines shut down in May.

The new route

The Atlantic City service runs Thursdays and Sundays with fares starting at $79 one way, according to WMBF News, which reported the launch Thursday morning. Breeze first announced the route on May 5 as a seasonal nonstop with introductory fares from $49, alongside new Long Island service, in the days after Spirit’s collapse. Tickets are sold at flybreeze.com and in the airline’s app.

Eleven routes, 25 destinations, 70% more seats

On Oct. 13, Breeze unveiled 22 new routes across its network, 11 of them touching Myrtle Beach, the largest share of the expansion. The additions take Breeze’s nonstop MYR destinations to 25 and lift its Myrtle Beach seat capacity about 70% over 2026, according to The Post and Courier and MyHorryNews. The airline said it expects to lead all carriers at MYR in both destinations and seats by the second quarter of 2027, passing Allegiant Air on routes. Breeze arrived at MYR in February 2024 with a single flight.

The 2027 schedule, with introductory one-way fares as reported:

The two newspapers differ on a few start dates. The Post and Courier lists Albany beginning May 28 and Buffalo on July 1, while MyHorryNews has Albany on May 4 and Buffalo on May 27. Ten of the 11 routes begin in May, with Latrobe the early exception. Travelers should confirm dates with the airline before booking.

Horry County Director of Airports Judi Olmstead called the announcement “a huge moment for MYR and the community we serve.” Breeze Chief Commercial Officer Lukas Johnson was direct about the motive: “The market lost a lot of seats with Spirit’s exit,” he said, and the carrier has been working to backfill those destinations. Founder and CEO David Neeleman said that for Myrtle Beach the easier question was where the airline could not fly. Visit Myrtle Beach President Stuart Butler said the routes make it easier for visitors to reach the beaches and give residents more options.

The Spirit hole

MYR announced on May 2 that Spirit had ceased operations, ending what the airport described as a nearly 30-year relationship. The scale of the loss is in the airport’s own numbers: Spirit accounted for nearly half of MYR’s seat capacity in 2020 and still about 23% in calendar 2025. Olmstead said at the time that the airport had spent years building a more balanced, competitive market and expected many of Spirit’s routes to return under other carriers as conditions allowed. The Post and Courier reported that the area now sees about 3.5 million passengers a year through MYR following a major expansion in 2024.

Breeze’s expansion is the clearest answer so far. The airline said it more than doubled its Myrtle Beach seats, routes and passengers over the past year. Across its network, the October announcement added four cities, Boston, Buffalo, Latrobe and Santo Domingo, and brought Breeze to 95 cities, according to AirlineGeeks. The Portland Press Herald noted that Breeze’s current Portland-Myrtle Beach service makes one stop and becomes nonstop in May 2027.

Where the planes come from

Nearly every new dot on the map is in the Northeast. Of the 11 routes, five are in New England (Boston, Burlington, New Haven, Portland and Portsmouth), four are in upstate or Hudson Valley New York (Albany, Buffalo, Stewart/Newburgh and Syracuse), and two reach the Midwest and western Pennsylvania (Columbus and Latrobe). Only Boston is daily. The rest run twice a week in Monday/Friday, Thursday/Sunday or Wednesday/Saturday pairs, a pattern built around three- and four-night trips rather than full weeks.

The growth question

More visitors arriving by air means more cars on the Strand’s roads once they land. On Oct. 20, two days before the Atlantic City launch, South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce brought its 10-year “Blueprint 2036” roadmap to Myrtle Beach, where local business leaders named traffic congestion as their most common concern, WPDE reported. Greater Myrtle Beach Collaborative CEO Matt Pivarnick and SCMC Vice President of Government Affairs Will Frierson pointed to workforce barriers including child care, housing and transportation. The airport is adding seats faster than the region is adding road capacity.

The Grand Strand Take

For vacation-rental owners, the route map is a booking calendar. Twice-weekly service on Thursday/Sunday and Monday/Friday pairs points to three- and four-night stays, not the Saturday-to-Saturday week that defined the Spirit era. That favors owners who open their calendars to shorter minimums in May, June and the fall shoulder, and who price Thursday and Sunday check-ins accordingly. Daily Boston service from May 4 is the single biggest change: it gives the airport its first Boston nonstop and makes midweek arrivals from the largest metro in New England realistic for the first time.

The caution is that these are introductory fares on a schedule more than six months out, and the published start dates already disagree between two reputable local outlets. Owners should treat 2027 Northeast demand as likely but not booked, and should watch Breeze’s seasonal patterns before committing to new minimum-stay rules. Grand Strand App’s newsletter, Useful notes from the coast, will track the schedule as the airline firms it up.

What it means for you

Test yourself

1. How many new MYR routes did Breeze announce for 2027?

Answer: Eleven, lifting its nonstop destinations from Myrtle Beach to 25.

2. What share of MYR’s seat capacity did Spirit hold in 2025?

Answer: About 23%, down from nearly 50% in 2020, according to the airport.

3. Which 2027 route will run daily?

Answer: Boston, starting May 4, with introductory fares from $79.

4. When did Breeze begin flying from Myrtle Beach?

Answer: February 2024, with a single flight.

Discussion

  1. Does a Boston nonstop change who vacations on the Grand Strand, or just how they get here?
  2. Should Horry County tie airport growth to road funding, as business leaders suggested this week?
  3. Would you shorten your rental’s minimum stay to match Thursday-to-Sunday flight patterns?

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