US low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways is to significantly expand its operations from New York's LaGuardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), increasing flights at both convenient airports by eight round-trips daily to at least 16 round-trips by this summer. The growth has been made possible by the airline's acquisition of slots through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) slot auction as part of the Delta Air Lines and US Airways slot swap.
"By seizing the opportunity to invest in the rare slot pairs made available in our hometown of New York City and in our nation's capital, JetBlue is comfortably poised for organic growth," said Scott Laurence, Vice President of Network Planning and Partnerships, JetBlue Airways. "Together with our low-fares, award-winning product and customer service, we're pleased to be able to double the flights, new destinations and more options to customers in both of these vital regions."
At New York LaGuardia JetBlue will add daily services to three new Florida destinations including Fort Myers, Sarasota/Bradenton and Tampa (TPA) beginning on June 11, 2012. Tampa will be served twice-daily while Fort Myers and Sarasota/Bradenton will each be served with one daily rotation. In addition, the airline will boost service to its existing LaGuardia destinations by adding two more daily flights to Orlando, and one additional flight each to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and West Palm Beach.
At Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport, JetBlue will boost its high-frequency service to Boston, adding three more daily round-trips for a total of ten per day, beginning June 11, 2012. Combined with its service between Boston and both Baltimore Washington and Washington Dulles International Airports, JetBlue offers the most flights between Boston and the National Capital Region.
Also in June, JetBlue will add new service from Reagan National to Tampa and boost its existing service to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Tampa will be served once daily and two additional flights will be added to both Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
Elsewhere, JetBlue is to make peak season travel to Nantucket, Massachusetts' beloved summer island escape, even easier with the launch of a daily service from Boston's Logan International Airport (BOS) to Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK) between May 17, 2012 and September 4, 2012. The island will be the carrier's 45th destination to be served non-stop from Logan and will launch just two weeks after the carrier inaugurates its flights between Boston and Dallas/Fort Worth International on May 1, 2012.
"We're making New Englanders' summer travel to Nantucket even easier with this daily trip to the island," said John Checketts, Director of Route Planning, JetBlue Airways. "Our continued growth in Boston is focused on where our customers tell us they want to fly! We're excited to expand our award-winning offerings in the state."
Although JetBlue calls itself “New York’s hometown airline” it holds the position as the largest carrier at Boston Logan International Airport with around a quarter share of the capacity at the facility. The airline currently offers over 3,500 weekly departures from Boston offering approximately 465,000 seats. This is a 25.9 per cent share of the total available seats from the airport. Its closest rivals are Delta Air Lines and US Airways with a 15.1 per cent share and American Airlines with 9.6 per cent of the market.
In a further commitment to its operations in the city the airline has recently unveiled an Airbus A320 painted in a special livery promoting the Boston Red Sox, the first commercial airliner to be painted in a Major League Baseball uniform. The special Airbus A320 traded its signature blue branding for a grey paint scheme inspired by the classic Red Sox road uniforms complete with blue wing tips and a grey tail featuring the team's iconic dangling red socks. The aircraft also includes a banner commemorating Fenway Park's 100th anniversary alongside the JetBlue and Red Sox logos.
Although the US market remains rather flat JetBlue continues to see growth. In January 2012 it increased passenger traffic by 13.3 per cent when compared to the same month last year thanks in part to 12.3 per cent increase in capacity. This has meant load factors have grown slightly by 0.7 percentage points to 80.7 per cent.
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