By: W. Scott Bailey | From: San Antonio Business Journal

Passengers seeking to fly into or out of San Antonio International Airport will have multiple new nonstop flight options.

SAT officials have struck a deal with Breeze Airways, which plans to launch nonstop service between the Alamo City and multiple key markets beginning this spring.

Jesus Saenz, director of airports for the City of San Antonio, has confirmed that the Utah-based airline plans to begin nonstop flights from SAT to Memphis, Raleigh-Durham and Pensacola.

“What's really attractive with this new partnership between San Antonio International Airport and Breeze Airways is the ability to serve not only leisure, but business markets,” Saenz said when asked about the expected impact from these latest wins.

Breeze will begin its year-round nonstop service between SAT and Raleigh-Durham on May 7 with flights on Thursdays and Sundays. It plans to add one-stop, no-change-of-plane flights to North Carolina’s Research Triangle on Mondays and Fridays beginning May 8. 

Breeze’s San Antonio reentry will also include new nonstops to Memphis on Mondays and Fridays beginning May 8. It also plans to introduce new summer seasonal nonstop flights to Pensacola on Wednesdays and Saturdays beginning June 10.

San Antonio’s economic ascent and airport expansion were among the factors that drew the airline’s attention.

“It's a significantly growing market. It just made sense, given how much we've grown, to re-enter the market,” Breeze Chief Commercial Officer Lukas Johnson told me. “We've been talking with the airport for a while. The stars aligned.”

Said Saenz, “We've been working with Breeze for a good six to eight months.”

Breeze plans to add summer seasonal service from San Antonio to Tampa Bay via one-stop flights and no change of plane starting June 10. 

The airline will use a new fleet of Airbus A220 aircraft for its new San Antonio service.

The Raleigh-Durham flights could provide an important boost to San Antonio’s biotech industry.

“It is one of our top three targeted markets that we've been wanting to establish service into,” Saenz said. “We have a large number of passengers that want to get to Raleigh-Durham.”

Breeze will operate out of an expanded and improved Terminal A in San Antonio.