By Jace Moseley
JetBlue Eyes Leisure Markets with Latest Network Boost
As airlines continue to slowly recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of demand, many airlines have turned to new routes in an attempt to reach the market of those who are still traveling. With the addition of 24 new routes from the fall of this year, JetBlue has become the latest airline to try and take advantage of newfound demand.
The airline’s new routes are largely leisure-focused, with many strengthening their positions in focus cities across the country. Most notably, the airline will be adding seven additional international destinations from their Newark, New Jersey focus city, and seven destinations to their Los Angeles focus city. Of the seven new destinations from Los Angeles, three will be to international destinations, a first for JetBlue at Los Angeles.
| Focus City | Destination | Frequency | Launch Date |
| Newark | Oranjestad, Aruba | 1x daily* | Nov. 19 |
| Newark | Cancun, Mexico | 2x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Newark | Montego Bay, Jamaica | 1x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Newark | Nassau, Bahamas | 1x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Newark | Providenciales, Turks and Caicos | 1x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Newark | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic | 1x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Newark | Sint Maarten | 1x daily* | Nov. 19 |
| Los Angeles | Charleston, South Carolina | 1x daily | Dec. 18 |
| Los Angeles | Cancun, Mexico | 2x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Los Angeles | Liberia, Costa Rica | 2x weekly* | Dec. 18 |
| Los Angeles | Palm Beach, Florida | 1x daily* | Nov. 19 |
| Los Angeles | Raleigh, North Carolina | 1x daily | Dec. 18 |
| Los Angeles | Richmond, Virginia | 1x daily | Dec. 18 |
| Los Angeles | San Jose, Costa Rica | 1x daily | Dec. 18 |
| Fort Lauderdale | Bozeman, Montana | 2x weekly | Dec. 18 |
| Fort Lauderdale | Palm Springs, California | 2x weekly | Dec. 18 |
| San Juan, Puerto Rico | Raleigh, North Carolina | 1x daily |
Dec. 19 |
*denotes JetBlue’s Mint product
The addition of flights from both Palm Springs, Calif. and Bozeman, Mont. to Fort Lauderdale will make JetBlue the only airline serving Florida from the two popular leisure destinations.
A map of JetBlue’s newest route additions. (Photo: JetBlue)
On top of new additions from JetBlue focus cities, the airline also seven new point-to-point routes including international flying from Raleigh, N.C.
|
Origin |
Destination | Frequency | Start Date |
| Richmond, Virginia | Las Vegas, Nevada | 1x daily | Dec. 18 |
| Richmond, Virginia | Tampa, Florida | 1x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | Fort Myers, Florida | 1x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | Montego Bay, Jamaica | 1x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | Cancun, Mexico | 1x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Cancun, Mexico | San Francisco | 2x daily | Nov. 19 |
| Cancun, Mexico | Tampa, Florida | 1x daily |
Nov. 19 |
Flights featuring Mint Service will be operated by the airline’s 159 seat Airbus A321 aircraft featuring 16 Mint seats, 41 Even More Space seats, and 102 Core (economy) seats. All other flights will be operated by the Airbus A320 in either a 150 or 162 seat layout.
In a press release, Scott Laurence, JetBlue’s head of revenue and planning, 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.”
He continued to say, “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.”
All flights are scheduled to launch on Nov. 19 or Dec. 18, with tickets already on sale. All flights to international destinations from the United States are subject to government regulatory approval.
Being from Seattle, Jace was bitten by the aviation bug at a young age and never outgrew it. Although none of his family is in the industry, he has always wanted to work in aviation in some capacity. He currently in college studying air traffic management.