Anyone in Pittsburgh who’s been hankering for fried chicken from Willie Mae’s or beignets at Café du Monde, your cravings just got easier to satisfy.

Breeze Airways announced Tuesday morning that it will begin nonstop flights to New Orleans from Pittsburgh International Airport in February and will offer $79 fares one way to celebrate the new route.

The low-cost airline also announced it will resume its nonstop service to Hartford, Connecticut, which was suspended in July due to staffing issues.

“Breeze always looks for underserved routes where we can add nonstop flights, low fares and our brand of Seriously Nice service,” said airline president Tom Doxey. “We’re thrilled to add service from Pittsburgh to two of our bases in Hartford and New Orleans.”

Breeze initially launched from PIT in July 2021, when Pittsburgh was one of the first 16 cities served by the airline founded by aviation entrepreneur David Neeleman, who also started charter company Morris Air (later acquired by Southwest), WestJet, JetBlue Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines.

Breeze will operate its New Orleans and Hartford flights from PIT using its new Airbus A220-300. The A220 features the airline’s Nice, Nicer and Nicest cabins. (Image courtesy of Airbus)

“We appreciate Breeze’s investment in our market and their commitment to offering our passengers new cities to explore,” said Bryan Dietz, PIT’s senior vice president, Air Service & Commercial Development. “New Orleans is an iconic leisure destination that we know is popular among Pittsburghers. We expect a strong consumer response to this route.”

In addition to Hartford, Breeze also added Providence, Rhode Island, to PIT’s route map and increased the options for travelers going to Charleston, South Carolina (also served by Allegiant and United).

Service to Norfolk, Virginia, which began with the airline’s launch, was suspended in September.

Service to New Orleans and Hartford begins Feb. 3, 2023, and travelers interested in either destination will find appealing deals on tickets.

If purchased by Monday, Nov. 21, for travel by May 16, 2023, passengers to Hartford will pay $49, $59 or $129 for one-way fares in the airline’s Nice, Nicer and Nicest sections, respectively. For New Orleans, the deals are $79, $109 and $149, respectively.

PIT last had nonstop service to the Big Easy in April 2021, when Allegiant flew the route.