This is a full review of my Breeze Airways Embraer 195 Extra Legroom experience from Tampa to Oklahoma City. Yup – I spent extra on a “Nicer Fare”, which gave me a seat with extra legroom and priority boarding (among other minor perks). It was interesting.
On one hand, it was a pleasantly comfortable flight with an attentive cabin crew.
On the other hand, the snacks and drinks were extremely limited. Like, come on bro!
MX118
Tampa, FL (TPA) – Oklahoma City, OK (OKC)
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Aircraft: ERJ-195
Registration: N192BZ
Duration: 2 hours 29 minutes
Seat: 5F (Extra Legroom)
Breeze Airways E195 side view illustration by Norebbo.comOur route from Tampa to Oklahoma City today as MX118. How concerned should we be about how obvious it was that they were afraid to fly over open water?
My in-depth review of the Breeze Airways Embraer 195 Extra Legroom seat
Before going any further, it’s important to note that the Extra Legroom seats on the ERJ-195 are not the best seats that this airline offers. I’d recommend checking out my Breeze Airways A220-300 “Nicest” seat review to see what first class is really like on Breeze.
Breeze Airways Embraer 195’s parked at TPA. The one on the left is the one I’m taking to OKC. Well, it’s taking me, but you know what I mean.
My arrival at the airport
I spent the night at the Tampa Airport Marriott Hotel. It’s attached directly to the terminal, which makes it perfect for an overnight stay before an early morning flight.
Unfortunately, I had mistakenly input the wrong birthdate on my reservation, and the TSA wouldn’t let me through the security checkpoint because of it.
The birthdate on my drivers license and my ticket didn’t match, so they sent me right back to the Breeze Airways check-in counter to see if they could get it resolved. So much for a stress-free morning.
I know. Standing at the Breeze Airways check in counter watching the friendly agent struggle to fix my mistake is an awfully embarrassing way to begin this review.There we go. Pro tip: don’t be stubborn and refuse to give an airline your real birth date when making a reservation! The TSA frowns upon that.Figured I might as well get a proper pic of the Breeze Airways check in counter here at TPA while I’m here. It ain’t fancy.
The pre-departure experience
Breeze Airways uses Terminal C at TPA. It’s fairly small with limited food options, but as long as you’re not spending an entire day there, it’s not that bad. I had about an hour to kill before my flight started boarding, which was the perfect amount of time to get situated and relaxed.
Inside Terminal C here at TPA. Along with the same black seats we see in pretty much every other airport in the US.I really hope Breeze Airways got a good deal on gate space here at TPA, because they’re located all the way at the end (next to the toilets).Gate C45…I mean…C44 is our gate this morning. *sound of toilet flushing in the background*I thought this was our aircraft this morning, but I was wrong. A last minute gate change (which you’ll see in a moment) ruined my attempt for achieving complete and total accuracy in this Breeze Airways review.I was so confident that this was our plane that I took another picture of it. < Austin Powers voice > Yeah baby! < / Austin Powers voice >Feeling proud of myself for being so accurate in my airline reviews. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
The boarding process
The scheduled departure gate for the flight to Oklahoma City was 45. However, they switched it over to gate 44 just five minutes prior to the boarding process. I’m not sure why they waited that long to tell everyone, but whatever.
Plot twist! We’re departing out of gate 44 now. And I’m feeling miffed for having taken lots of pics of the wrong plane.Even they look disappointed that I took pics of wrong plane. I’m sorry!So nice to see a boarding door in any other color than white. I haven’t seen this much blue since my Air Tahiti Nui A340-300 economy review!
Embraer 195 Extra Legroom seat overview
Not only was this the first time that I had ever flown Breeze Airways, it was also the first time that I had ever stepped foot on an Embraer 195. Neither of those two little tidbits of information mattered once I saw the seats. Long story short, the interiors of the Breeze Airways E195s look fantastic.
Whoa. I was not expecting white seats. At all.Remember Virgin America first class? Breeze Airways Extra Legroom seats here on the Embraer 195 are nearly as cool.No, it’s not exactly first class, and there is no neon pink mood lighting, but…dang this is nice.The legroom is “extra” (just as advertised). I wonder if it’s possible to cross my leg in these seats?Well, would you look at that?An overview of the entire Extra Legroom section here on the Embraer 195. All I can see is heads, but I’ll bet anything there’s lots of happy knees in this pic.Of course I chose a seat in the row with a misaligned window. It’s what I do best.
Finally, it’s worth noting that these extra legroom seats on the Embraer 195 are not typical of what you’ll find on other aircraft in the Breeze Airways fleet. Be sure to read my Breeze Airways A220-300 Nicer seat review to learn more about their latest and greatest “Extra Legroom” offering.
Our departure
The sun was just starting to pop over the horizon as we pushed off the gate. This is easily my favorite time of day to fly, so I was more than a little excited about the prospect of getting some juicy sunrise-themed takeoff footage.
There’s that plane again. I’ll tell you what: I did a fantastic job of getting pics of a plane that wasn’t ours for this review.“Hey! You there in seat 5F! You took pics of the wrong plane!”I may never be able to show my face in this town again.On a more serious note, the load factor on today’s flight was probably 75%. Nice to see Breeze Airways doing so well in Tampa!I wouldn’t have thought that there’d be enough demand for a TPA-OKC nonstop flight, but here we are. By the way, be sure to watch the video embedded below to see (and hear) the full takeoff:Ka-Ching!Still climbing out of Tampa, and I’m still liking these Breeze Airways Extra Legroom seats. The fact that there’s an empty seat next to was something to like as well. Yes, there are things you can do to increase the odds of having an empty seat next to you on a flight!
Food and drinks
Food and drinks were limited on this flight (it was a fairly new airline at the time, and they were still figuring things out). I’m happy to report that they eventually figured things out. The premium snacks on current day Breeze Airways flights are pretty good!
I’m ready for anything. Bring it!Maybe I should have been more specific? They brought me potato chips and water.Trying to recall the last time I had potato chips for breakfast…At least they were fresh. And crispy. And salty. FYI, water was the only beverage option this morning. I’m tempted to say something critical about that, but then again…I only paid $124 for this ticket. Water was fine.
Seat comfort
The Extra Legroom seats on Breeze Airways Embraer 195 are pretty comfortable. No, they are not as comfortable as a standard domestic first class seat. These are simply the regular economy seats wrapped in a different material (and spaced a little farther apart).
Dreaming about the day Breeze Airways offers lie flat seats? Or still thinking about the last time I had potato chips for breakfast? I can’t remember. At least I was comfortable.For comparisons sake, these seats are much more comfortable than a Southwest Airlines Business Select seat (which is basically a standard seat at a higher price). If Breeze Airways is an option, they’re likely to be a better choice than Southwest IMHO.Although the look on my face implies that I’m still thinking about potato chips for breakfast, I can assure you that I was thinking about how much better of a deal Breeze is than other ultra low cost carriers. These seats are amazing for the price!
The descent and arrival into OKC
From one pancake flat state to the next. I didn’t think there was a state as flat as Florida, but Oklahoma just may be the one. It was a beautiful descent and arrival into Oklahoma City!
Wait! I need to show you the lavatory before we land.See? It’s exciting, isn’t it?Good morning Oklahoma City!As someone who lives in a valley between two mountains, the flatness of this terrain is mind blowing.It was a butter-smooth approach and landing into OKC. I can only dream of being this smooth whenever I try to land in Microsoft Flight Simulator, so props to the captain for a job well done.Did you read my Allegiant Air A319 Legroom Plus review? If so, this should look awfully familiar.I spy Breeze Airways competition!Thankfully I didn’t see any Southwest Airlines employees giving us the middle finger as we rolled by.That’s it folks! You’ve reached the end of the review, and I’m happy to report it was a good experience overall. I’m looking forward to flying with them again soon, and – why do these people seem anxious to get away from me? Anything to avoid ending up on the blog I guess…
Pros and cons
More than anything, you need to understand that a seat with more legroom on the Breeze Embraer 195 isn’t that much better than a regular seat. And since this is an airline which flies typically shorter routes, think twice before spending the extra money for just a little more room. It may not even be worth it.
Pros
The E195 Extra Legroom seats look very high class wrapped in a white leather-like material. In terms of looks, reminds me a lot of the old Virgin America first class.
It’s an incredibly good deal. I paid just $124 for my seat, and I overheard the guy in front of me tell his seatmate that he paid $134 on his last minute ticket.
The added perks you get with the seat (priority boarding, free snacks, free checked bag, etc.) are nice. You’d pay a lot more for a Southwest Airlines Business Select seat and you’d still get less.
Cons
It’s probably not worth it to spend more money on an Extra Legroom seat if your flight is less than an hour in length. There is extra legroom, but not that much extra.
The seats themselves are equivalent to basic economy seats. You won’t get any extra padding or lower back support.
The snacks they serve in these premium seats are equivalent to what you would get in regular economy on nearly any other US airline.
Unfortunately my experience was terrible! The one and only time I traveled with out my cane I was kicked off for thiughts of beibng dru nk. No, I’m fully disablec. Gate agent dodn’t care. It it is in the courts.
Sounds like a terrible experience! I’ve found Breeze Airways crews to be generally nice, but it sounds like you (unfortunately) came across a bad apple. Hopefully everything works out for you!
Susan
Unfortunately my experience was terrible! The one and only time I traveled with out my cane I was kicked off for thiughts of beibng dru nk. No, I’m fully disablec. Gate agent dodn’t care. It it is in the courts.
Scott (SANspotter)
Sounds like a terrible experience! I’ve found Breeze Airways crews to be generally nice, but it sounds like you (unfortunately) came across a bad apple. Hopefully everything works out for you!