2 scrappy airline startups are sparking a unlikely war between New Haven and Hartford Airports

Startups Breeze Airways and Avelo Airlines are competitors, shaped by small fleets and point-to-point schedules. That competition is now sparking a battle in the relatively sleepy aviation state of Connecticut, where two airports just 56 miles apart, Hartford and New Haven, are being pitted against one another over expansion demands from the two carriers. Connecticut’s population is about 3.6m. It has long supported Hartford’s Bradley International, which has 42 non-stop destinations that include Los Angeles and San Francisco. Bradley had about 7 million 2019 passengers and is New England’s second-largest airport after Boston Logan. Historically, New Haven’s Tweed, which is managed by a private entity, has been little used, repeatedly tried and abandoned by major carriers, hampered by a short, 5,600- runway and by neighborhood opposition to expansion. Breeze uses Hartford’s Bradley. Avelo uses Tweed New Haven Airport. Kevin Dillon, CEO of the Connecticut Airport Authority, which oversees Bradley, said, “If you start talking about an airline market the size of Connecticut, you need to be careful not to end up with two sick puppies, because you’re trying to spread it too thin.” Breeze began serving Bradley on May 27, 2021, its first day of operation. Founder David Neeleman, a onetime New Canaan resident, said he considered Tweed but picked Bradley. “We felt Hartford was better,” he said. “Hartford is a big city. There are more people there.” Neeleman said the two carriers don’t compete, planned expansion at Hartford indicates Breeze’s success, and Avelo expansion does not concern him. Neither airline’s frequencies are high. “It’s just a few days of flying (each week),” he said. For Breeze, the commitment to Connecticut represents 10 of 70 total routes. Breeze has five bases and serves 28 cities.<br/>