Lately we’ve seen airlines completely change their approach to route planning. With business travel likely to be way down for many years, airlines are now going after leisure travelers with their new schedules. In particular, the focus seems to be on Florida, Mexico, and Caribbean islands.
JetBlue’s latest expansion
JetBlue has today announced plans to launch two dozen new routes in November and December, including lots of point-to-point routes. This follows JetBlue announcing it would bring Mint service to Newark, and also follows JetBlue’s recent expansion in Los Angeles.
As JetBlue describes its latest expansion, these routes are “aimed at immediately generating cash and capturing traffic in new markets.” It’s rare that you see an airline announce intentions that clearly. 😉 Every new market has been identified as one where JetBlue anticipates increased demand for leisure travel.
All of these new flights are on sale as of today. Let’s take a look at all of the new routes, and some are even operated by aircraft with Mint.
New JetBlue routes from Los Angeles (LAX)
JetBlue is increasingly making Los Angeles a hub, as it pulls out of Long Beach altogether. JetBlue is launching seven new routes out of Los Angeles, including to:
- Cancun (CUN) twice daily as of November 19, 2020
- Charleston (CHS) once daily as of December 18, 2020
- Liberia (LIR) twice weekly as of December 18, 2020 (MINT)
- Palm Beach (PBI) once daily as of November 19, 2020 (MINT)
- Raleigh-Durham (RDU) once daily as of December 18, 2020
- Richmond (RIC) once daily as of December 18, 2020
- San Jose (SJO) once daily as of December 18, 2020
New JetBlue routes from Newark (EWR)
JetBlue is continuing to increase its presence in Newark, clearly trying to give United some competition. JetBlue is launching seven new routes out of Newark, including to:
- Aruba (AUA) once daily as of November 19, 2020 (MINT)
- Cancun (CUN) twice daily as of November 19, 2020
- Montego Bay (MBJ) once daily as of November 19, 2020
- Nassau (NAS) once daily as of November 19, 2020
- Punta Cana (PUJ) once daily as of November 19, 2020
- Turks and Caicos (PLS) once daily as of November 19, 2020
- St. Maarten (SXM) once daily as of November 19, 2020 (MINT)
New JetBlue routes from Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
JetBlue is launching four new routes out of Raleigh-Durham, including to:
- Cancun (CUN) once daily as of November 19, 2020
- Fort Myers (RSW) once daily as of November 19, 2020
- Montego Bay (MBJ) once daily as of November 19, 2020
- San Juan (SJU) once daily as of November 19, 2020
New JetBlue routes from Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Fort Lauderdale is already a huge JetBlue hub, but the airline is adding some very cool nonstop flights from there. JetBlue is launching two new routes out of Fort Lauderdale, including to:
- Bozeman (BZN) twice weekly as of December 18, 2020
- Palm Springs (PSP) twice weekly as of December 18, 2020
New JetBlue routes from Tampa (TPA)
JetBlue is launching two new routes out of Tampa, including to:
- Cancun (CUN) once daily as of November 19, 2020
- Richmond (RIC) once daily as of November 19, 2020
Other new JetBlue routes
JetBlue is launching a couple of other routes:
- Richmond (RIC) to Las Vegas (LAS) once daily as of December 18, 2020
- San Francisco (SFO) to Cancun (CUN) twice daily as of November 19, 2020
Bottom line
Virtually all airlines are expanding to markets they didn’t previously serve, focused on capturing short-term leisure traffic. With Mexico open to American tourists with few restrictions, and with Caribbean islands largely opening up with testing, JetBlue is understandably focusing on those destinations for international leisure travel.
It’s so cool to see all of these point-to-point routes added. Living in South Florida, I’m particularly interested in the Fort Lauderdale to Bozeman flight — what an easy way to get to Yellowstone!
What do you make of JetBlue’s latest route announcement?
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