It’s not all doom and gloom as far as the United States’ aviation industry is concerned. Indeed, hybrid carrier JetBlue today revealed that it would serve 24 new routes by the end of the year as it looks to cash in on an expected increase in demand for leisure travel.
Recently most news regarding the United States aviation industry has been relatively negative given the looming threat of layoffs and network cuts. Despite this, some carriers have been increasing their networks. Yesterday United Airlines announced a host of new routes. Meanwhile, today JetBlue followed suit.
24 new routes
Today the US hybrid carrier JetBlue announced intentions to serve 24 new routes. The network announcement includes domestic routes alongside internationals flights to Central America and the Caribbean. JetBlue has never operated services on many of these routes before. The airline has anticipated that every market included in the announcement will receive increased demand for leisure travel in the coming months.
While JetBlue is introducing new destinations from four focus cities, it is also increasing its Mint business class offering on services from Newark and Los Angles. However, the airline is also launching its first international services from the latter airport. All of the new routes announced today are set to commence in either November or December. However, tickets for the routes are already on sale.
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Reactivating aircraft
A large number of JetBlue aircraft were parked up while the airline dealt with the considerable drop in passenger demand generated by the current crisis. However, the new route launch will have a positive impact on some of these aircraft. More routes mean that more aircraft will be needed, and as a result, parked aircraft will be reactivated. This will also mean that more pilots and crew will be required.
Commenting on the launch of the routes, Scott Laurence, head of revenue and planning at JetBlue said,
“This is the latest example of JetBlue’s ability to be nimble and play offense as we quickly adjust to new customer behaviors and booking patterns. This latest series of new routes – even in the current environment – advances our revised network strategy, returns more aircraft to the skies and doubles down on our ability to generate more cash sooner.”
Not the only route launches
The new route launches aren’t the only ones of late. Of course, yesterday, United Airlines announced a significant international expansion, with new routes to the likes of India and South Africa. However, unlike JetBlue, United gave hints that a big announcement was coming.
In June, JetBlue announced 30 new domestic routes, with a large focus on coast to coast flying, in addition to fights up and down the East Coast of the United States.
What do you make of JetBlue’s route announcement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!