WARWICK – It will now be more of a breeze traveling through Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport.
State and local officials joined Breeze Airways on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the budget airline’s base at T.F. Green.
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With the new base, Breeze will add flights, destinations and 250 new jobs, with an average annual pay of $90,000, at T.F. Green over a 12-year period.
“I thank Breeze Airways for choosing Rhode Island and Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport for its base of operations,” Gov. Daniel J. Mckee said. “This new hub is bringing jobs to our state, economic activity for our small-business community and new nonstop routes, which will allow countless tourists and visitors to see what makes Rhode Island a true destination state.”
Breeze Airways, which arrived at T.F. Green in July 2021, plans to expand the routes it offers out of the Warwick-based airport from 12 to 20 over the next five years. Beginning Thursday, a one-stop, no-plane-change service will be offered to Orange County, Calif., as well as daily service to Los Angeles beginning May 17. The airline will also add eight Airbus A-220 airplanes to its fleet at T.F. Green, including the maintenance personnel to sustain them.
Breeze has committed to maintaining the T.F. Green base, the number of jobs, routes and flights for at least 12 years.
“It’s a great day as we name Rhode Island T.F. Green International [Airport] as Breeze’s newest base of operations,” said Mike Wuerger, Breeze Airways chief operating officer. “We are so grateful to Governor McKee, the Speaker [K. Joseph Shekarchi], Senate President [Dominick J. Ruggerio] and General Assembly, and to [R.I. Airport Corp. CEO and President] Iftikhar [Ahmad] and the whole team at T.F. Green for the support from day one in making this happen, and, of course, to the traveling community here who have flown our first thousand departures from PVD and embraced the airline’s growth.”
In January, the state, through the R.I. Commerce Corp., authorized $2.9 million in tax credits in exchange for the jobs created through the new base. The redeemable tax credits, via R.I. Commerce’s Qualified Jobs Tax Credit program, will be distributed over a 10-year period for 116 of the new jobs (other jobs are contract positions and not eligible for tax credits).
Under the 10-year tax credit structure, the company will have to create a minimum of 58 jobs in the first year, PBN previously reported.
Separately, Breeze Airways will receive nearly $2.3 million in incentives for fiscal year 2023 to pay for destination marketing and ground operations, as approved by the Air Service Development Council, another R.I. Commerce committee.
The hub and corresponding jobs are expected to add about $6 million in income, sales and business tax revenue over a 12-year period, the state previously announced.
According to the tax credit program, to protect taxpayers, the company must commit to being in the state 20% longer than the length of the tax credit it receives, McKee spokesman Matt Sheaff told PBN in an emailed statement. Since Breeze would receive tax credits over a 10-year period, it must commit to being in the state for 12 years.
“Breeze Airways is a valued partner in our tourism efforts, and we are proud that they’ve chosen to make Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport a base. These 250 new, good-paying jobs will drive economic development across our state,” said R.I. Commerce Secretary Elizabeth M. Tanner. “We look forward to many years of partnership with Breeze Airways.”
In February, Breeze expanded its nonstop flights out of T.F. Green with four new routes to Florida beginning in July, including Tampa, Orlando, Fort Meyers and Sarasota-Bradenton.
Breeze Airways also offers six nonstop routes out of T.F. Green: Charleston, S.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
(UPDATE: Adds 12-year period to third paragraph, corrects Breeze commitment to base, flights and jobs to 12 years in sixth paragraph and adds 12th paragraph with comment from Matt Sheaff on tax credit program.)
