The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) is pleased to announce a corporate headquarters in Salt Lake for Breeze Aviation, a new company with plans to create 369 jobs in the next five years.

Breeze Aviation is founded by David Neeleman, who previously co-founded Morris Air (later sold to Southwest), WestJet, JetBlue, and Azul Brazilian Airlines. Neeleman has been one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the airline business. Breeze Aviation plans to unveil an as-yet-unnamed low-cost carrier in the new year which will provide flyers with convenient non-stop service from secondary airports.

Breeze Aviation may earn up to 20% of the new state taxes it will pay over the five-year life of the agreement in the form of a Utah Legislature-authorized Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) tax rebate. The GOED Board has approved a post-performance tax rebate not to exceed $1,082,000. Each year the company meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the total tax rebate.