Breeze Airways is making a quiet land grab of leisure routes left dangling after Spirit Airlines' collapse — and for travellers in smaller US cities, it means nonstop flights to beach destinations that would otherwise require a connection.

The Utah-based carrier, founded by JetBlue and Azul co-founder David Neeleman, has announced six new destinations across the coming months. Its fleet of 66 Airbus A220-300s will now serve routes that fit Breeze's signature model: point-to-point links between secondary airports and markets no one else flies.

The biggest beneficiary is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where Breeze is now among the largest carriers by destinations served. From February 9, it will fly nonstop from Latrobe, Pennsylvania (LBE) to Myrtle Beach — a route with zero competition. Latrobe, which lost its commercial service entirely when Spirit pulled out, also gets a new nonstop to Orlando from May 26, while Myrtle Beach gains a Boston Logan link from May 4 (where American and Delta already fly).

Breeze is also going international. Tampa will connect to Montego Bay, Jamaica from December 19, and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic from June 18. They slot into a growing Tampa international lineup that already includes Punta Cana, San Jose, Costa Rica and Nassau, with Cancun starting December 18. There's also a new Tampa–St. Thomas route from December 16 — technically domestic, since the US Virgin Islands need no passport, which makes it an easy first Caribbean trip for travellers without travel documents sorted.

Upstate New York gets a share too. Buffalo Niagara International will add three summer routes: Raleigh–Durham from June 29 (facing only seasonal Frontier competition), Myrtle Beach from July 1, and Charleston, South Carolina from July 2. The latter two are uncontested.

Why it matters: Breeze specialises in flying where the big carriers won't, and its fares on new routes are typically cheap in the first weeks after launch. If you're based near Latrobe, Buffalo or Tampa and have been mourning a Spirit route, check Breeze first — some of these flights have literally no competition, so prices won't stay low forever once the novelty fades.