This is exciting — JetBlue will be adding service to a third European city. In August 2021, JetBlue launched transatlantic flights using Airbus A321LRs. Up until now, the airline has exclusively flown to London (out of Boston and New York), and then in June 2023, the airline will launch flights to Paris (initially out of New York).
A couple of weeks ago the airline revealed plans to fly to Amsterdam, and tickets for these flights are now on sale… I’m impressed!
In this post:
JetBlue adding Amsterdam flights from New York and Boston
JetBlue has announced that it plans to add flights from both New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS) to Amsterdam (AMS). The schedules for these flights have now been published, and the flights are on sale.
As of August 29, 2023, JetBlue will launch daily flights between New York and Amsterdam with the following schedule:
B62288 New York to Amsterdam departing 10:00PM arriving 11:35AM (+1 day)
B62289 Amsterdam to New York departing 1:35PM arriving 4:00PM
The flight covers a distance of 3,643 miles, and is blocked at 7hr35min eastbound and 8hr25min westbound.
Then as of September 20, 2023, JetBlue will launch daily flights between Boston and Amsterdam with the following schedule:
B631 Boston to Amsterdam departing 8:00PM arriving 9:35AM (+1 day)
B632 Amsterdam to Boston departing 11:35AM arriving 2:00PM
The flight covers a distance of 3,457 miles, and is blocked at 7hr35min eastbound and 8hr25min westbound.
JetBlue plans to use Airbus A321LRs for both of these routes, which feature just 138 seats. This includes 24 Mint seats, spread across 12 rows in a 1-1 configuration.
22 of those seats are Mint Suites, which are the standard business class seats. These are fully flat, have direct aisle access, and each have a privacy door.
Two of those seats are Mint Studios, which are the seats in the first row, and they feature significantly more room. They also have a buddy seat feature, so that you can have someone else join you during the flight.
JetBlue then has 114 economy class seats, 24 of which are Even More Space (extra legroom) seats.
JetBlue has an exceptional soft product in all cabins. There’s also complimentary Wi-Fi for all passengers, plus personal televisions, including on demand and live TV programming.
JetBlue’s challenges securing Amsterdam slots
For some background, for several months now, JetBlue has been pursuing launching nonstop flights from both New York and Boston to Amsterdam. The airline has wanted to serve each route daily using Airbus A321LRs. Unfortunately up until recently, JetBlue had been unable to secure slots for Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, so in mid-February, JetBlue sought the help of the Department of Transportation (DOT):
- In September 2022, JetBlue requested Aeroflot’s slots for the airport, given that the airline can no longer fly to the European Union; however, the airport removed those slots altogether, rather than allocating them to another airline
- More recently, JetBlue requested Flybe’s slots (as the airline ceased operations), but was initially also denied for that
- The Dutch government has been trying to reduce landing slots at the airport as part of a green initiative, though a court recently blocked that
JetBlue had requested that the DOT force KLM to give up some slots in order to make JetBlue’s service possible. The argument was that the Delta and KLM joint venture currently offers the only service from Boston and New York to Amsterdam, so more competition is needed to lower fares.
JetBlue essentially wanted the DOT to challenge the antitrust authority that the two airlines have as part of their joint venture, arguing it’s bad for consumers.
JetBlue overcame obstacles to make this service work
With all the challenges that JetBlue has faced, how is this new service possible? Well, a couple of weeks ago JetBlue was granted slots from Flybe, which went out of business. Unfortunately at the time that was the extent of the good news for JetBlue:
- The airline had only been granted these slots for the summer 2023 airline schedule, which runs from late March until late October 2023
- There were no assurances that JetBlue would be able to maintain these slots for the winter schedule, or for the next summer schedule
- The slot times that JetBlue had been given were undesirable and variable, which made it impossible to maintain a consistent and attractive schedule for consumers
JetBlue’s efforts seem to have paid off, as the airline has now secured two daily slot pairs at the airport on a long-term basis, with an attractive schedule no less. I suspect this is at least partly possible thanks to a court blocking the plans for Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to shrink.
JetBlue’s challenging road to growth in Europe
JetBlue has ordered 14 Airbus A321LRs, specifically to be able to operate flights from Boston and New York to Europe. This was a bold move, as it’s always hard for a new challenger to come into a market with established players and be successful.
But JetBlue’s even bigger challenge has proven to be securing slots for European airports, given how many of them are slot restricted. There are only so many European destinations that JetBlue can fly to profitably year-round out of the Northeast, and many of those airports are slot restricted.
So JetBlue’s strategy in being able to offer this service has largely been to beg for slots — in some cases JetBlue has requested that competitors be forced to give up slots, while in other cases the airline has claimed that it should receive available slots over competitors.
JetBlue has had surprisingly great luck with this strategy, slowly but surely securing both Heathrow and Gatwick slots, and now securing Amsterdam slots. JetBlue is succeeding with taking a foot in the door approach to launching this kind of service, and it has been successful.
I can appreciate JetBlue’s argument about how competition is good for consumers. That being said, I’d say a strong argument could be made that it would be in the better interest of consumers to grant additional slots to airlines operating larger aircraft, since that would add more capacity to markets. Is a JetBlue flight really better for competition than another airline operating a flight with twice as many seats?
Bottom line
JetBlue has officially unveiled plans to launch flights to Amsterdam from both New York and Boston, and flights are now on sale. Initially JetBlue had trouble securing the slots required to operate this service, but the airline overcame those challenges, and can now add these flights. It’s exciting to think that in a matter of weeks, JetBlue will fly to London, Paris, and Amsterdam!
What do you make of JetBlue’s Amsterdam flight plans?
Don't forget about the partnership issue. One could view JetBlue equivalent to BA or AA because of being in the same partnership. Interesting that they are flying to SkyTeam dominating destinations - Paris and Amsterdam and connections will not be simple as a result.
Much needed competition! Diamond / 2MM here and booked on Jet Blue to Europe in biz class for a business trip. They were cheaper and I think they have an equal if not superior product (never flown them before). Slowly but surly… goodbye SkyTeam especially with their ridiculous devaluation of miles, and lost benefits.
I still can’t believe a A321 can carry enough fuel to stay in the air for more than nine hours (counting reserve, holding and alternate fuel). I’m having flashbacks to the A300.
They’re really gearing up for a fight with DL. Launching routes from their two northeast hubs to their three European hubs can’t be sitting well with the management team in Atlanta.
with all due respect, JBLU will offer a fraction of the capacity that DL has.
It is better to let JBLU operate on a few routes so that they no longer say that DL is systematically locking them out.
It's a fraction, sure, but most of the Delta/KLM customers aren't flying to Amsterdam, they're flying through it. Amsterdam is the Atlanta of Europe. Plenty of people fly to both cities, but the majority are passing through when it comes to DL and KLM. So in terms of capacity comparison that matters here: paying a premium to fly nonstop to Amsterdam from JFK & BOS, JetBlue's capacity isn't insignificant.. with all due respect.
Delta/KLM...
It's a fraction, sure, but most of the Delta/KLM customers aren't flying to Amsterdam, they're flying through it. Amsterdam is the Atlanta of Europe. Plenty of people fly to both cities, but the majority are passing through when it comes to DL and KLM. So in terms of capacity comparison that matters here: paying a premium to fly nonstop to Amsterdam from JFK & BOS, JetBlue's capacity isn't insignificant.. with all due respect.
Delta/KLM compete on one stop European traffic via AMS with Frankfurt, Dublin, Heathrow, and other European hubs, but Jetblue isn't competing with that, they're competing with the nonstop BOS/JFK-AMS where Delta can charge a premium to corporate customers since they're the only carriers on the route.
It's competition I guess. But if I am a corporate traveler flying JFK to AMS - and I fly Delta domestically - am I going to give up earning MQM on this expensive flight in order to fly JetBlue Mint, especially when it lacks lounge access on both ends of the pond?
It is a nice add, especially on the premium leisure side.
thank you, Anthony. You get it.
And the majority of customers at ATL don't fly to the city but Delta still gets a disproportionate share of the ATL local revenue as well as gets a revenue premium. The same principle applies.
JBLU will provide competition but this is more about them offering a somewhat similar network to DL in order to compete to retain the same passengers they already carry instead of losing them...
thank you, Anthony. You get it.
And the majority of customers at ATL don't fly to the city but Delta still gets a disproportionate share of the ATL local revenue as well as gets a revenue premium. The same principle applies.
JBLU will provide competition but this is more about them offering a somewhat similar network to DL in order to compete to retain the same passengers they already carry instead of losing them to DL. The chances of DL losing passengers are slim.
The same is true about AA and UA from NYC, btw.
Great take, Tim. B6 is simply using its London, Paris, and Amsterdam routes as retention flights to prevent the transatlantic customers it had before COVID from defecting.
Well with SkyTeam introducing business light and charging for seat assignments in business… and making us pay $900+ for lounge access, it’s not worth it. Good to have options and as a corp traveler I’ll be trying Mint class and jet blue for the first time this summer.
Just a head up regarding service in coach... these A321LRs are originally designated for domestic transcontinental flights, so they don't have oven in the aft galley. I presume coach passengers will receive cold meals like some of the BOS-LGW flights ran by the same LRs during the past year. JetBlue will hopefully clarify to passengers.
Are you sure this is correct? The seat map shows JFK-AMS flights being operated by the 24J A321LR, which is configured with ovens in the aft galley. Additionally, the AMS press release explicitly describes a hot meal in economy which would seem like an odd inclusion if it weren't true. The 16J A321 non-LR is the aircraft which doesn't have ovens in the aft galley — I know these are operating some TATL frequencies today,...
Are you sure this is correct? The seat map shows JFK-AMS flights being operated by the 24J A321LR, which is configured with ovens in the aft galley. Additionally, the AMS press release explicitly describes a hot meal in economy which would seem like an odd inclusion if it weren't true. The 16J A321 non-LR is the aircraft which doesn't have ovens in the aft galley — I know these are operating some TATL frequencies today, but it's not clear where they'll go by the time late August rolls around.
An interesting topic that I always wondered.
How hard is it to retrofit ovens in the galley.
If B6 already have a working subfleet with ovens, should that be like a day job since they know what to do?
Maybe another day for some recertification just for the galley?
Adrian,
That is incorrect, the 24J 321LRs have ovens in the back, the 16J 321Neo (non LRs) recently certified ETOPs as a stop gap measure due to LR delivery delays are the ones that lack the ovens in the back.
These two routes are direct competition to DL. Wonder how the price wars is going to be. Timing on both routes isn't bad at all
I see so much potential in the unserved JFK-PRG route. I wonder if it's not in their plans, or whether they have some slot or range issues.
They physically can’t do that route until the XLR arrives which would be 2025 at the absolute earliest.
1) Really like that 10 PM departure time to Amsterdam. Too many EU flights try to leave at 6,7,8, etc. 10 PM or later is the way to go
2) JetBlue desperately needs lounges in its major airports (JFK, BOS, etc). Not just Mint lounges either - they need full lounges accessible to members, elites, etc. T5 isn't a good experience like it was many years ago.
I love the later flights to Europe. Actually have a decent shot at getting some sleep on the flight and being able to check-in when you get to the hotel.
Is this the extent of JetBlue's growth in Europe? Beyond CDG, I'm not sure what other routes could be operated profitably with the A321LR
Possibly some routes from BOS to the Med? I don't think NYC flights could handle the distance on the A321R?
Keep in mind they have plenty of orders for the upcoming A321XLR as well, allowing them to go anywhere in Europe from either hub, to (realistically) as far as the Turkish peninsula. Israel would be *just* out of range.
Then there's also the potential for deep S.America, as all the major capitals/destinations there are within range from both hubs (though Buenos Aires is cutting it very closely) with the -XLR as well. Though they could...
Keep in mind they have plenty of orders for the upcoming A321XLR as well, allowing them to go anywhere in Europe from either hub, to (realistically) as far as the Turkish peninsula. Israel would be *just* out of range.
Then there's also the potential for deep S.America, as all the major capitals/destinations there are within range from both hubs (though Buenos Aires is cutting it very closely) with the -XLR as well. Though they could just as easily launch those from Ft. Lauderdale, and hit every destination with room to spare.
Let’s be realistic about the XLR range. Even according to Airbus the range from New York is more like Italy and maybe Greece. There’s no way a XLR will be able to do JFK-IST, let alone Israel, unless it’s flying empty.
Remember they have the XLR coming online as soon as next year. This will open up longer range flight possibilities from JFK/BOS. They should double their currently announced transatlantic capacity within the next few years just with their current order book--giving them the ability to add around 13 more flights. Once they have access to the NK order book, even more possibilities open up.
They're still loosely affiliated with Aer Lingus right? If that ever ends could see them look at Dublin from NYC or BOS. Other than that, maybe a seasonal Med route in the summer.
You say this as if it’s a good thing. When the world is burning, we’ll remember the small decisions like Schiphol being blocked from shrinking. It may not be detrimental in itself but it’s symbolic of us kicking the can down the road.
Who's "we"?
By then all of you types will have killed yourself in some idiotic ritual meant to "lower human emissions" and appease the great holy one who is The Climate™.
You are of course entitled to your opinion but in that case, why are you expending perhaps-not-green, not-carbon-neutral electricity reading aspirational travel blogs?