JetBlue is back with more major changes to their flying, trying to stem the tide of losses. In a tweetstorm (albeit on Bluesky), aviation watchdog JonNYC lays out changes to routes that JetBlue will be making, both to its Europe flights and to domestic operations from New York, Miami and Seattle and more – changes that the airline hasn’t announced yet.
In 2025 won’t operate summer-only JFK–Gatwick flight or second daily summer-only JFK–Paris flight since they didn’t meet financial expectations. will continue to fly to Gatwick from Boston in the summer, and Paris will continue to be served year-round from both Boston and JFK.
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) December 4, 2024 at 2:29 PM
new transatlantic offerings to announce next week
end of service to San Jose, CA,
end
Fort Lauderdale – Jacksonville
New York/JFK – Austin, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee (overall JFK departures will remain flat)
end Westchester County – Charleston (replaced by more HPN-RSW flights)— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) December 4, 2024 at 2:32 PM
The adventures across the Pond have been big money-losers. Almost anyone can make money over the summer. Not losing a lot of money, even with a narrowbody aircraft is hard.
So while their peak summer schedule in 2015 will again feature 13 flights,
- They’re cutting their summer-only New York JFK – London Gatwick flight and their second New York JFK – Paris flight.
- Boston – London Gatwick will be summer-only instead of year-round.
- And they’ll be adding new routes they’ll try across the Atlantic for summer 2025 next week.
Meanwhile, JetBlue will be exiting another market – ending service to San Jose, California due to ongoing challenges in profitability. They’ll also be dropping:
- Fort Lauderdale-Jacksonville
- New York JFK to Austin, Houston, Miami, and Milwaukee
- Westchester-Charleston (but adding additional Fort Myers).
Miami has not been profitable post-COVID. They haven’t been able to compete with American and Delta there. So JetBlue will focus on other Florida destinations and the Fort Lauderdale focus city.
Just like Atlantic flying is heavily seasonal, doing well in the summer, there are also routes that work well in winter and JetBlue is shifting these to winter-only:
- Boston-Grenada
- Boston-Phoenix
- New York JFK-Tulum
Meanwhile, Seattle is losing JetBlue’s business class Mint product by end of April because it doesn’t sell well.
Overall, JetBlue sees the Northeast, Florida, Caribbean, and cross-country routes doing well and so they continue to retrench to these, exiting non-core markets.
However this may be the end of the network bloodshed, we know that some new routes are coming, and there should be product announcements in the offing as well. Or, as JonNYC puts it, “I get the sense that this tranche of cuts is the last of the bad JetBlue news and a lot of good news coming, as detailed, some being announced as early as next week and then extending into the new year– exciting stuff.”
Is there any demand for linking PBI to the West Coast?
B5 started MIA to try to link with AA as part of the NEA. Now that the NEA is gone, B6 doesn’t want to compete with AA.
And DL is the big winner in all of this with the greatest overlap.
DL continues to grow from NYC and BOS while B5 for now is shrinking.
B5 is JetBlue Lite
Should benefit AA and Delta as per Enilria’s DOT data pull – perhaps a harbinger of a new partnership w/ AA?
AA is #1 on JFK-MIA (46% share to #2 Delta’s 31%), BOS-PHX (53% share to #2 Delta’s 22%), and #2 on JFK-AUS (42% share to #1 Delta’s 46%). Delta is the only other airline serving JFK-MKE on Delta Connect and will benefit there as well as JFK-AUS and the other routes above where it’s #2.
I’d assume Delta will withdraw its seasonal JFK-LGW in favor of something else now that it’s just them and BA – the #’s aren’t great for anyone on that route so that frees up some capacity.
Does Alaska (or Delta) try to add a premium life-flat product to JFK-SEA? Doubt it but who knows. Maybe AA adds JFK-IAH since they pathetically don’t serve Houston the NYC metro and have some slots?
As soon as JetBlue realizes it’s a domestic version of Eastern, the better it will be. Stop trying to be like the big three when your FF program, schedule, and operation is clearly way behind.
Not sure where this airline can go. The great hope of Europe seems to be falling away and can’t compete on a core route like JFK/MIA. Presumably B6 is trying to shrink it’s way to profitability or near profitability hoping someone will acquire them hoping a deal can muster regulatory approval.
Oh no! jetBlue’s Mint (especially on these transatlantic routes) is far superior to the Big Three and even the European counterparts, namely because B6 has better food, less people, newer lie-flat, and high-quality entertainment. As a TrueBlue Mosaic level 3, I am saddened by this retreat from Europe.
This is too bad, but it always seemed to me that London and Paris were really doomed given the incredible amount of lift already on this routes and that JetBlue might have set itself apart better with underserved routes with less competition and higher fares like JFK-Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Geneva, or even Sao Paulo.
I would personally love to see them restart JFK-MEX, and they certainly should have done so while Mexican carriers were forbidden from adding routes.
On time performance is probably something JetBlue needs to focus on too. DL fanboys are obviously ecstatic by these changes. Cream rises to the top DLFBs and so far JetBlue going forward seems to be the only LCC embracing an all coach philosophy outside of MINT. This they may skim off some of those disenfranchised or disillusioned by WN’s recent changes. More seamless and timely connections to Hawaii HA may also help the cause for what I am seeing these are horribly timed at the present.
re. JonNYC: Who despite having used X to build his position described it thus:” Hoping to leave this unflushed gulag toilet completely behind in the new year”. Well, Gee, thanks for that ringing endorsement of the rest of us there. As I told him directly, sorry to see him go but don’t bother coming back.
Jet Blue TransAm: If they’re still in business I may give Mint a try in 2025 to LHR. It’s hard to ignore a $2,000 saving on a RT ticket.
What is wrong with right-sizing the TATL operation? People on the inside said it was the most profitable flying this summer.
B6 should have bought 330s for Europe. Ya cant make money on a weight restricted narrow body across the pond. Gotta carry freight just to break even most of the time. Retrench is exactly what B6 should be doing. No FRA, no MUC, ZRH or GVE. LH will eat their lunch.
JFK or BOS – MAN with a much smaller mint cabin and lots of seats in back could work.
Actually the TA flying has been some of the most profitable flying at B6 since the fall schedule took hold……Gary your assumption are just the…..assumptions.
Airlines don’t cut what works. A couple of B6 TATL flights max are profitable year round. The rest works just in the summer
@Woofie
He’s a lefty moron, he used to have Ukraine flag on his profile, that pretty mush says everything you need to know.
X is better than it’s ever been, and cowards like Johnny run because people say mean things to him. Snowflake.
BOS-SEA Mint should find customers in techie folks and bicoastal folks. I was both of those and took this flight often, at peak one round-trip per week for months. Fares were great, reliably <$500 with sufficient advance purchase. I guess that's not sustainable, OK, but the people who want lie-flat business will pay double that — and don't have any other options. Very sad that this didn't work out for JetBlue. Don't feel optimistic that other routes are better suited to Mint than BOS/JFK-SEA.
@AndyS only moron I see here is you but I guess if the racist shoe fits. Who’s the real coward here?
I remember when people said JBLU was gonna run AAL out of the JFK-LHR market. I laughed at the thought of a 321 with those expensive landing fees at LHR taking on a ALL 777-300 with all of those premium seats. Hilarious!
Most Democrats, even moderates have left X. No reason to strengthen Musks diabolical hate filled world view. His algorithm just feeds you content to reinforce his agenda. Bluesky isn’t perfect yet, but it doesn’t leave you feeling manipulated. Even
If flying PAX isn’t making money, then B6 needs to double down on the auxiliary items:
– tweak the loyalty program which is skimpy at best; give me a reason to be in alignment
– reward FAs for hawking c/cards like AA does to me on every flight (I don’t like it, but Cash is King)
– push B6Vacations & Paisly packages, too far in the background, very little exposure
– lounges (2026?) at BOS & JFK could not come sooner
– while you’re at it, buy out or partner with the existing Escape lounge in T3 at FLL
– explore similar options at San Juan (B6 is #1 airline at SJU)
– once completed, T6 at JFK will interconnect with T5 (B6). Code share with Euro airlines to back fill the Euro footprint while providing East Coast coverage in exchange
– redress the NEA with AA via the new administration.
Again, loyalty and cash flow are paramount in the airline business!!
@Nick
Not really. X has more users than ever before, that’s even after all the bots were purged. The “hate” is just people being able to say what they want without some ped0 lefty censoring. The “agenda and worldview” is just reality and something lefties try to ignore because of their fragile sensibilities.
You side lost and is in the minority, society is rejecting woke and Ukraine is about to lose.
It’s over.
@AndyS You support Russia???
@nick yes, and I admire Putin. I have more respect for him than any other world leader. Wish we had someone like that running the show.
Russia has every right to defend themselves from NATO and us aggression.
Bluesky is full of Minor Attracted Persons. Any comments that are not in total agreement with mentally unstable liberal ideas will get you banned. It is just a safe place echo chamber because the mentally unstable can defend their ideas
@jojo
If you look at sex offenders a disproportionate amount of them are lgbt. MAPs are the soul of the lgbt movement and allowed nambla front row access to pride parades early on until they became a political liability.
I will probably taking the LAX to BUF round trip with nonstop flights each way in late April next year. Hopefully the credit card points will cover the airfares once again. The flights are always full.
@AndyS
This. While I don’t agree with Russia’s tactics, one can’t deny that it has the right to defend its interests, and that the “West” owns the Ukraine conflict equally by backing the Kiev coup d’état in 2014 – and the baffling Nato expansion before that.
Specific to aviation, the West’s economic warfare against Russia and other imaginary “adversaries” jeopardizes civil aviation safety by making it more difficult for target countries to obtain spare parts for essential maintenance, and limits travel options for all of us (by the West’s closing of its airspace for Russian carriers and its subsequent closure of Russian airspace in response).
Even during the deepest depths of the Cold War, there was regular air service between New York and Moscow.