JetBlue was one of the first airlines to chart out new routes amidst the ongoing crisis. As the airline’s financials suffered and parked much of its fleet, the carrier now has some big growth plans. So, here are the most hotly awaited JetBlue routes for 2021.
For other articles in the series of most-awaited routes, see the below articles:
5. Raleigh to San Francisco
From March 4th, JetBlue will be launching nonstop daily flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The airline is using an Airbus A320 on this route.
United Airlines formerly had a monopoly on this route, with up to two daily nonstop of its own. JetBlue is only flying once per day between Raleigh and San Francisco from late-March and only five times per week in the weeks before then.
Transcontinental routes have long been a part of JetBlue’s network, but this is a new set of operations. These flights will not feature the airline’s top-notch Mint business class product. Instead, the route currently appears to be geared towards leisure travelers, which could work well for the airline.
Neither San Francisco nor Raleigh are hubs for the airline, but Raleigh is becoming an important city for JetBlue. The airline has a host of new routes planned out of the North Carolina city for 2021, which will see it take on Delta Air Lines, which uses the airport as a focus city, and Southwest Airlines also has a sizable presence at the airport.
JetBlue is taking a point-to-point strategy with this new route and with so many others. This will be a route to watch. Point-to-point travel can sometimes be hard for airlines, but JetBlue has done well on point-to-point travel.
4. Los Angeles to Los Cabos
From June 17th, JetBlue will be flying nonstop daily from New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Los Cabos (SJD). JetBlue will also be flying from Los Angeles International (LAX) to SJD from the same day on a daily rotation.
JetBlue advertises the route as a way for passengers to head to Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, with easy access to Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
The Los Angeles to Los Cabos route is important because JetBlue is launching these new flights not too long after bidding farewell to its Long Beach base in favor of Los Angeles.
JetBlue had long targeted growing an international presence out of the LA-area. However, Long Beach does not have the ability to cater to international flights, so JetBlue moved over to the much larger LAX, a known airport for international flights.
This leisure-oriented route should do well and will be a testament to how strong JetBlue’s LAX base is. The airline will be competing against Delta and American, which both operate up to two daily nonstops on the route, United Airlines, which operates once a day, and Alaska Airlines, which flies up to three daily nonstops between LAX and SJD.
3. New York City to Guatemala City
From April 15th, 2021, JetBlue will be launching nonstop flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport (GUA).
Guatemala will be the 25th country JetBlue serves, and it represents the airline’s commitment to Latin American and the Caribbean. However, by operating this out of JFK, JetBlue is showing something else about this route.
Guatemala City is served by multiple US and international carriers. This includes the big three US airlines and Spirit Airlines. Frontier and Eastern are also expected to throw their hat into the ring and launch new flights to Guatemala City.
JetBlue has traditionally used its Fort Lauderdale hub to fly to Central American destinations; it has also served some destinations out of New York-JFK. By tapping into this route, JetBlue will not be competing against any other major carrier. Still, it will be relying on the strength, mostly of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travelers heading from the New York-area to Guatemala City.
2. New York City to Bogota
With no launch date confirmed as of yet, JetBlue’s New York-JFK to Bogota’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Colombia is one to watch.
JetBlue has not revealed many details about this service, but some exciting things could come from this route. The block time for the route will clock in at over five-and-a-half hours, so JetBlue may use a Mint-configured plane on the route. However, JetBlue does operate some longer routes without Mint.
JetBlue will be competing against Avianca’s up to three daily flights to the Colombian capital, while Delta Air Lines is flying once per day on the route. Avianca will fly Airbus A330s and Boeing 787s, as of now, this summer. Avianca’s 787 business class product is better than the A330s.
Delta Air Lines used to fly a 757 with recliner-style business class seating on the route. Now, however, the airline is upgauging that flight to a Boeing 767-300ER, the same kind of plane it flies from Atlanta to Bogota. This is a significant improvement for business class passengers since the airline will be offering lie-flat seating between New York and Colombia.
If JetBlue decides to go for business and premium travelers, the airline will need to fly Mint down to Colombia. Mint would easily compete well against both airlines. The other option would be for JetBlue to fly an all-economy Airbus jet down to Bogota and target leisure travelers.
JetBlue already flies from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale to Bogota using all-economy Airbus A320 aircraft. Those routes, however, clock in at just under four hours and primarily target leisure travelers.
It depends on what JetBlue wants to do with this route. As it works out the details, some surprises could be in store. If the Airbus A321LRs have downtime between flights to London, they could easily fly down to Colombia.
1. Miami to Los Angeles
JetBlue is coming to Miami, and it is putting up a fight. From February 11th, the airline will be flying nonstop between LAX and Miami International Airport (MIA) with its refreshed onboard Mint business class product.
The airline is turning up the heat on its new partner, American Airlines. JetBlue and American have a partnership out of the Northeastern US. That is, their partnership includes flights that touch New England, such as New York and Boston. Outside of that realm, JetBlue and American are competitors.
After JetBlue announced these flights, American Airlines decided to add its own flights out of Fort Lauderdale on similar routes as JetBlue is targeting out of Miami. However, JetBlue is likely to prevail still.
JetBlue entering the MIA to LAX route will bring some much-needed competition on this route dominated by American Airlines and give passengers another choice when choosing a business class product, given that Mint will be available.
Both American and JetBlue have been pretty silent after announcing the new partnership, so it is anyone’s best guess what the two airlines are working on behind the scenes, or if JetBlue coming to Miami is going to complicate that partnership. For now, JetBlue is acting as a thorn in American’s side in Miami.
What about London?
JetBlue plans to come to London in 2021, though it does not have the best slots available for flights to the UK. Nevertheless, there has not been an official announcement from JetBlue as to what routes the airline will launch to and from London.
For now, the London route stays off the list. However, if London does materialize, JetBlue’s new route to London will instantly take first place.
Which of these five new JetBlue routes are you most excited to fly on? Let us know in the comments!
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