JetBlue has just revealed plans to significantly change up its route network, which includes canceling quite a few routes, and even pulling out of some markets altogether. This is part of the carrier’s goal of returning to profitability, following the failed takeover of Spirit.
In this post:
Details of JetBlue’s route & flight cuts
David Slotnick reports on an internal memo that JetBlue has shared with employees, highlighting how the carrier’s network will be changing in the coming months. There are a lot of changes, with Latin America and the West Coast of the United States being hit especially hard. Let’s go over the updates that we can expect.
JetBlue pulling out of several cities altogether
As of June 13, 2024, JetBlue will entirely withdraw from several airports, including:
- Bogota (BOG)
- Kansas City (MCI)
- Lima (LIM)
- Quito (UIO)
The Kansas City service was from New York (JFK), while the rest of the service was from Fort Lauderdale (FLL). JetBlue explains that these markets were unprofitable, and that aircraft can better be utilized elsewhere.
JetBlue greatly reducing LAX flying
While JetBlue isn’t pulling out of Los Angeles (LAX), the airline is significantly decreasing its presence there. Specifically, as of June 13, 2024, the airline will end service between Los Angeles and:
- Cancun (CUN)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Liberia (LIR)
- Miami (MIA)
- Puerto Vallarta (PVR)
- Reno (RNO)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Seattle (SEA)
With these cuts, JetBlue will be reducing its Los Angeles presence from 34 flights per day to 24 flights per day. Selfishly, I’m sad to see the Los Angeles to Miami route being cut, since it was the only route to Miami with Mint service. The airline continues to offer Mint service from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, though, along with its traditional premium transcon flights to markets in the Northeast.
JetBlue is blaming its reductions in Los Angeles on the failed takeover of Spirit, claiming that the airline was hoping it could better compete in Los Angeles as a larger airline. However, without the merger, it’s just not practical to grow there organically, given limited gate space.
JetBlue cutting other routes as well
In addition to completely pulling out of some markets and scaling back flying out Los Angeles, the airline has plans to cut some additional routes. As of June 13, 2024, nonstop routes between the following markets will be cut:
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Atlanta (ATL)
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Austin (AUS)
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Nashville (BNA)
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and New Orleans (MSY)
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Salt Lake City (SLC)
- Tampa (TPA) and Aguadilla (BQN)
- New York (JFK) and Detroit (DTW)
- Orlando (MCO) and Salt Lake City (SLC)
My take on JetBlue’s network changes
It’s good to see JetBlue taking a critical look at its network after the failed Spirit takeover, and deciding which part of the network make sense as an independent carrier. I think these cuts make a lot of sense:
- I guess the markets in Latin America just weren’t making money, and I don’t think much would have changed there
- Los Angeles is a super competitive market, and has a large presence from the “big three,” plus from Southwest and other carriers, so it makes sense for JetBlue to focus on the routes there where it can make money
- The Fort Lauderdale cuts are pretty specific, and JetBlue continues to have a big presence here
Now the big question is where JetBlue will instead fly the aircraft being freed up by these route cutes. That’s a lot of cuts that are happening in under three months. Is JetBlue going to be increasing frequencies in many markets across its network, or could we see JetBlue try to massively grow in a specific market? That’s admittedly quite challenging, given that JetBlue’s biggest hubs are capacity constrained.
I think these route cuts are also the perfect example of why blocking the takeover of Spirit was possibly short-sighted. Sure, some consumers would have been harmed by Spirit being eliminated. But similarly, some consumers will now be harmed because JetBlue will reduce flying in certain cities, because a critical mass is needed for a network there to work.
When it comes to the Los Angeles cuts, for example, I’d take JetBlue at its word. I absolutely believe the airline wanted to grow its presence there and that it might have worked with access to more gates, but it’s hard to compete without the ability to grow.
Bottom line
JetBlue is making some significant changes to its route network. In particular, the airline is pulling out of three markets in Latin America altogether, and is also greatly reducing its flying in Los Angeles, as well as cutting some routes out of Fort Lauderdale.
JetBlue states that these are all unprofitable routes, and the airline is trying to make sure that each route contributes toward profitability. Now the big question is where JetBlue will instead be flying these planes.
What do you make of these JetBlue route changes?
Flying Jet Blue from FLL to SLC for more than 10 years...with full flights...how could it not be profitable. On one trip in December there was no heat. Jet Blue said they were not obligated to provide heat! Well, I guess my Delta Skymiles Account will get a bump, maybe I'll make status this year! Bummed about the cuts!
No idea how profitable it was but I always felt JetBlue made a mistake by pulling out of Long Beach. Smaller airports around LA continue to grow and by leaving that airport, it allowed Southwest to essentially own it. I live much closer to LAX than I do to Long Beach but because of how difficult it is to fly out of LAX, I prefer to fly out of Long Beach and would use JetBlue...
No idea how profitable it was but I always felt JetBlue made a mistake by pulling out of Long Beach. Smaller airports around LA continue to grow and by leaving that airport, it allowed Southwest to essentially own it. I live much closer to LAX than I do to Long Beach but because of how difficult it is to fly out of LAX, I prefer to fly out of Long Beach and would use JetBlue as my preferred airline if still operated there. Now, when I fly out of LAX, I go with the most convenient in terms of cost and time, which is not always JetBlue.
Jet Blue should build a hub in STL where there's an abundance of space and few international flights. STL would be a great Caribbean hub from the Midwest. Southwest has been slow to bulk up direct flights from STL to the Caribbean, so there is plenty of opportunity, especially to the safer islands which are in high demand (ie: Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda) and which are poorly served from STL. As Cancun, USVI, Dominican Republic, Haiti,...
Jet Blue should build a hub in STL where there's an abundance of space and few international flights. STL would be a great Caribbean hub from the Midwest. Southwest has been slow to bulk up direct flights from STL to the Caribbean, so there is plenty of opportunity, especially to the safer islands which are in high demand (ie: Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda) and which are poorly served from STL. As Cancun, USVI, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and others become more and more dangerous... airlines need to shift to safer destinations.
I feel that Jet Blue needs to focus more on their current hubs that are profitable and I think the cut backs in LAX and Fort Lauderdale make sense. Too much competition is why the are doing what their doing.
It feels as though Jet Blue may be going under.
WOW. You don't see man airlines pulling out of BNA...
many*
Here's a Q - why did JetBlue operate all of those flights from LAX when they have their own hub at Long Beach? Did a lot of these flights overlap?
B6's operation was so unreliable that they essentially got pushed out of Long Beach because of curfew violations.
They fled to LAX to try to recover their operation; WN jumped into LGB and B6 is now pulling back at LAX.
We don't know whether the LGB operation made money for them but from a pure strategic standpoint, it would have been far better if B6 had simply operated reliably and remained at LGB - which does have its own slot controls
In addition to that, B6 wanted to operate internationally from SoCal, but LGB rebuffed their attempts to add FIS/CBP for scheduled service multiple times.
Combined with their curfew overruns, some local politicians jumped on the bandwagon of "reigning the airport in."
Then when B6 departed for LAX (after which one of the first things they did was add service to Mexico), the LGB officials and residents alike stood around dumbfounded, completely confused as to...
In addition to that, B6 wanted to operate internationally from SoCal, but LGB rebuffed their attempts to add FIS/CBP for scheduled service multiple times.
Combined with their curfew overruns, some local politicians jumped on the bandwagon of "reigning the airport in."
Then when B6 departed for LAX (after which one of the first things they did was add service to Mexico), the LGB officials and residents alike stood around dumbfounded, completely confused as to why transcon nonstops were no longer available and prices were comparatively through the roof.
Idiots.
WN did move in rather swiftly though, to fill some of the gap. But their east coast service is a pittance of what it once was.
Granted, all they have to do is drive a "quick" 22miles up the 405 if they want to get to LAX..... but they better do it at about 2pm or 2am, because it's an hour to an hour and a half during any commuting period. ;)
reining*
"The Kansas City service was from New York (JFK)"
And BOS too, no?
Yes they also served BOS from MCI.
I'm pretty sure they were selling BOS-MCI for this summer as recently as a few weeks ago. I'm not sure if they were flying it this winter, perhaps it was a planned summer resuption, and with this announcement they just dropped it from the schedule. Interestingly, Delta is upgaging BOS-MCI now in June; currently 2x daily E175, and moving to 2x daily A220-100 (Jetblue was flying A220 on this route, too)
B6 treated MSY as a bastard child when it comes to FLL service.
B6 flights were at the weirdest hours; 10:30 PM departure to MSY and 5:45 AM return to FLL. Or a 6:30 pm departure to MSY with a 8:30 pm return. As of late, it was quicker to fly WN via an ATL connection than wait for the B6 non-stop very late in the day.
Don't let Joanna fool you, the...
B6 treated MSY as a bastard child when it comes to FLL service.
B6 flights were at the weirdest hours; 10:30 PM departure to MSY and 5:45 AM return to FLL. Or a 6:30 pm departure to MSY with a 8:30 pm return. As of late, it was quicker to fly WN via an ATL connection than wait for the B6 non-stop very late in the day.
Don't let Joanna fool you, the MSY => FLL connection was treated as excrement. What does she expect?!?!
Time to cash in TrueBlue points and Mosaic tiles before B6 goes belly up and Carl liberates all the slots, gates, and airframes.
B6 has flown a lot of late night/early morning flying because it thought that airplane time was "free" so they could make money.
Labor costs and fuel are not "free" even in the middle of the night and all of that late night flying is a drag on B6 financially except during very peak periods of the year.
Add in that bad weather in BOS and NYC means those late night flights run...
B6 has flown a lot of late night/early morning flying because it thought that airplane time was "free" so they could make money.
Labor costs and fuel are not "free" even in the middle of the night and all of that late night flying is a drag on B6 financially except during very peak periods of the year.
Add in that bad weather in BOS and NYC means those late night flights run late going and coming and keep B6 from resetting the operation after bad weather events and they are better off dropping those flights and focusing on running their core operation more reliably.
It wasn't just MSY. B6 has similar service to many other cities from FLL. In particular, their flight to RDU leaves late at night and returns extremely early in the AM. Not convenient for most people.
And agree - their biggest problem and threat to their survival is that posterior clown Icahn. Nobody knows how to wreck an airline better than he does.
the same principle applies to all of the late night/early morning flying including the overnight JFK to Caribbean flying. It generates decent yields on a very rare basis but costs crew and fuel even if "airplane time" is free - which it is not because maintenance costs are tied to aircraft use.
And I get that alot of airline people don't trust Icahn but JBLU stock has performed horribly for years. Robin refused to...
the same principle applies to all of the late night/early morning flying including the overnight JFK to Caribbean flying. It generates decent yields on a very rare basis but costs crew and fuel even if "airplane time" is free - which it is not because maintenance costs are tied to aircraft use.
And I get that alot of airline people don't trust Icahn but JBLU stock has performed horribly for years. Robin refused to deal w/ the slide in JBLU's profitability or fix its core problems. Joanna already had a plan to do that before Icahn came along. Icahn wants to make money. He can do that just by having JBLU become profitable again. He might go further than that but doesn't really have the power to push huge amounts of change.
I doubt if any airline person will ever thank him but he is likely going to be the initiative to push Joanna to do what she was going to do to turn B6 around
Trusting Icahn on anything involving an airline is like trusting a bottle of Drano will cure a cold. But, then again, I may be wrong... After all, he did such a great job of transforming TWA into the thriving enterprise it is today, right?
Tell me again how this admin blocking mergers helps consumers?
It's not a difficult concept: stops the immediate elimination of the largest ULCC, which would raise fares in the numerous markets in which the two had overlap.
More competition is always better than less competition.
That's how.
Yeah, every single route and flight should be flown by its own independent airline prohibited from coordinating with any other flight, route, or airline. That would be “more competition” that is “always better” for the consumer.
Agree completely. Teddy Roosevelt was a real Republican, not a capitalist. There is a difference. Block the dollars and see if B6 can actually compete in the market.
Mint is also offer to Fort Lauderdale, is not only miami !
READ BEFORE YOU TYPE!!! Ben clearly states the other South Florida Airports that already/still have MINT available, you fool.
I flew JFK-DTW once on JetBlue. The person sitting in 1A was an obese alcoholic woman in full low-class mode. 1A is a premium seat. That's how I knew this route would not be long for a profitable airline.
I flew JFK-SFO once on JetBlue. The person sitting in 1A was David Blaine the illusionist (true story) and he entertained some of us with his card illusions. But I guess that's how I now know that the airline will eventually disappear
(sound of rimshot)
So you’re saying Jet Blue does operate some widebody flights?
If Southwest doesn't work for JetBlue, Alaska Hawaiian can have a crack at it.
Anyone but the flying city bus that is WN.
In terms of domestic economy travel for passengers without status, Southwest has the best product in my experience.
Free checked bags, open seating policy, no change fees, simple rewards program, companion pass.
Most of the FLL domestic cuts are WN markets interestingly enough.
Bogota is bleeding for all carriers at the moment as is most of South Am.
I'm surprised the TATL routes survived. Lots of comments about how weak these routes are and expensive to operate.
I saw these more as NK routes (the fll cuts)
"some consumers will now be harmed because JetBlue will reduce flying in certain cities, "
Reductions in these markets will lead to additions to other markets, so the net "harm" should be zero.
Sure, if you're a John Stuart Mill type of utilitarian.
The B6-NK ruling was based on the premise that *some* consumers might be harmed, even if others benefited. It's not unreasonable to point out the irony that by blocking the merger, some consumers were harmed anyway.
For every action, there's a consequences.
If they merged, consumers will be harmed, others will benefit.
If they didn't merge, consumers will still be harmed, some will still benefit.
Glad BUF-LAX survived ! :)
For now...
Am I right that there will only be 1 flight a day each way that offers lie-flat seats from MIA to LAX after JetBlue exits this route? It seems like American only runs one flight a day with this feature, with the rest being traditional first class. Delta just seems to run one regular first class flight as well. Seems very odd for a transcon that should have premium demand on both sides of the...
Am I right that there will only be 1 flight a day each way that offers lie-flat seats from MIA to LAX after JetBlue exits this route? It seems like American only runs one flight a day with this feature, with the rest being traditional first class. Delta just seems to run one regular first class flight as well. Seems very odd for a transcon that should have premium demand on both sides of the flight. Maybe Delta can introduce D1 on this route... United should get involved as well
People have this weird belief that MIA-LAX is more "premium" than it really is.
Why don’t you just lay down before the flight?
B6 is doing what they had to do to turn around financially; they have chased a million dreams, most of which have not worked.
Their core network has become less and less reliable and desirable.
Most of these routes that are being cut were a given; they were known to be weak based on pricing.
And it has to be noted that AA is the biggest beneficiary on the FLL-Latin America routes; all...
B6 is doing what they had to do to turn around financially; they have chased a million dreams, most of which have not worked.
Their core network has become less and less reliable and desirable.
Most of these routes that are being cut were a given; they were known to be weak based on pricing.
And it has to be noted that AA is the biggest beneficiary on the FLL-Latin America routes; all of these were attempts to turn FLL into a viable gateway to MIA.
Since NK flies several of these routes, it further validates the DOJ's concerns that a B6-NK merger would have raised fares - and that would have happened to the detriment of consumers. It was B6 that was weak while NK was setting the price levels.
And the beneficiary domestically is DL. There are more routes being cut that are competitive with DL than any other airline including in SLC and ATL.
As for the comments about a potential WN-B6 merger, this would be a gift to DL. Neither WN or B6 has a very good track record of competing with DL and combining the two is not going to change anything.
It is correct to say that one of WN's biggest strategic mistakes was passing on JFK which led to B6' creation - but some strategic failures - like UA's decision to leave JFK - just aren't correctable.
B6 is consolidating in JFK and BOS and DELTA is the winner? The biggest winners are the airlines with big Florida ops, so American, Spirit, and Southwest. Delta (and United, Frontier, Allegiant, Avelo, Breeze, and others) get a marginal minimal boost.
JFK is slot controlled. They aren't adding any flights. We have yet to figure out who leased a slot - or didn't use it - in the middle of the day to Frontier but the financial impact will be felt most by B6, not DL.
DL long ago became the largest airline at BOS. B6 might become more reliable but the notion that B6 will regain what they lost is fanciful and has not...
JFK is slot controlled. They aren't adding any flights. We have yet to figure out who leased a slot - or didn't use it - in the middle of the day to Frontier but the financial impact will be felt most by B6, not DL.
DL long ago became the largest airline at BOS. B6 might become more reliable but the notion that B6 will regain what they lost is fanciful and has not happened before in US airline industry.
and as much as you can't see it, the list of domestic routes that B6 has cancelled skew far more to DL's benefit than any one else. If you disagree, type the list and note which carrier is in each of those and you will see that DL is in the most, if not the largest carrier in the dropped routes.
AA is the MIA winner for FLL-Latin America other than NK which flies the routes from FLL.
B6 is doing this to free up aircraft to compete on ATL-TQO.
This is a well written article that actually explains the big picture....much more respect for @Lucky than @GaryLeff
Pretty short yardstick you got there.
Joining the Star Alliance could be a strategic move for JetBlue, offering the alliance enhanced connectivity at JFK and broader access in South Florida, regions where United's presence is limited.
Star Alliance really? They are more connected to ONE WORLD than any other alliance out there.
UA don’t seem too keen on working with B6 tho, based on their CEO’s comments, I’m pretty sure they’d get vetoed straight away if they were to ever try to pursue *A membership.
Restarting the partnership with AA seems like the way to go imo, as AA is still pretty weak in BOS and JFK, which are the markets where B6 should likely focus more on going forward. Even if it would be scaled...
UA don’t seem too keen on working with B6 tho, based on their CEO’s comments, I’m pretty sure they’d get vetoed straight away if they were to ever try to pursue *A membership.
Restarting the partnership with AA seems like the way to go imo, as AA is still pretty weak in BOS and JFK, which are the markets where B6 should likely focus more on going forward. Even if it would be scaled back to resemble more like AA/AS, it would probably still be useful enough to both parties
Scott Kirby won't allow B6 to join *A.
JetBlue and Southwest from a business model makes more sense than JetBlue and Spirit. I would suppose like now Mint would be only on certain routes where the demand is there and everything else coach. Of course there's the huge difference in fleet but that could be overcome.
Overcome? It's probably the biggest blessing that Southwest (WN) could ever hope for.
Should be pretty clear at this point, that basing the next 20-30yrs of its future on the (administratively unstable) 737MAX program, is a tenuous proposition to say the least...
...the thing's already surpassed Concorde for the most time spent grounded of any modern jet aircraft, and half of its derivatives are still in certification-h3ll, requiring yet another redesign, with no clear time...
Overcome? It's probably the biggest blessing that Southwest (WN) could ever hope for.
Should be pretty clear at this point, that basing the next 20-30yrs of its future on the (administratively unstable) 737MAX program, is a tenuous proposition to say the least...
...the thing's already surpassed Concorde for the most time spent grounded of any modern jet aircraft, and half of its derivatives are still in certification-h3ll, requiring yet another redesign, with no clear time frame for approval-- if indeed they ever get it.
Plus it's not like Airbus won't bend over backward to maintain a presence at the hardest nut they've ever had to crack.
Ryanair yawns....
Any insight what will happen to the slots at LAX?
Nothing, as LAX doesn't have slots.
LAX T5 and in general does have gate constraints, which is notable...but they were all going to be transferred to AA anyways once the AA Eagle Satellite terminal is demolished for the new T9...so it's sorta a legit question.
And now, several channels are reporting that JetBlue and Southwest are entering preliminary acquisition talks, should there be a change in administration come next year.
Was all chatter until a SWAPA statement was released (leaked) that shows they're preparing for a potential merger/acquisition as well, and do not wish to repeat the mistakes of the AirTran merger vis-a-vis their relationship with management.
This could get interesting, as it would solve Southwest two biggest F-ups of...
And now, several channels are reporting that JetBlue and Southwest are entering preliminary acquisition talks, should there be a change in administration come next year.
Was all chatter until a SWAPA statement was released (leaked) that shows they're preparing for a potential merger/acquisition as well, and do not wish to repeat the mistakes of the AirTran merger vis-a-vis their relationship with management.
This could get interesting, as it would solve Southwest two biggest F-ups of its history:
(1) Not moving into JFK when the state offered it to them on a silver platter in 1997-1998
(2) Betting their entire future on the 737MAX
STATEMENT:
"Last month, SWAPA decided to retain several law firms if Southwest attempts to acquire another carrier. One of those firms would be an experienced labor firm tasked with protecting SWAPA Pilots in a seniority list integration. The second - and possibly third - firm would handle the business and equity side of the transaction to ensure our Pilots were invested in the capital of the new entity.
In 2010, then-SWAPA President Carl Kuwitsky...
STATEMENT:
"Last month, SWAPA decided to retain several law firms if Southwest attempts to acquire another carrier. One of those firms would be an experienced labor firm tasked with protecting SWAPA Pilots in a seniority list integration. The second - and possibly third - firm would handle the business and equity side of the transaction to ensure our Pilots were invested in the capital of the new entity.
In 2010, then-SWAPA President Carl Kuwitsky and then-CEO Gary Kelly failed to follow Delta/Northwest’s lead in allowing the Pilots to be equity partners in the transaction when Southwest acquired AirTran. SWAPA will not make that mistake again."
Trump is going to lose in a landslide, so this won't go anywhere.
"Trump is going to lose in a landslide, so this won't go anywhere."
I'd feel a lot more confident about that, were he not going up against a questionably-lucid octogenarian who's currently trailing him in the majority of the swing states. That's pretty pathetic, considering a decent candidate should be miles ahead of someone recently liability-convicted of sexual assault, and facing just short of 100 other felony charges.
But maybe things will change, over then...
"Trump is going to lose in a landslide, so this won't go anywhere."
I'd feel a lot more confident about that, were he not going up against a questionably-lucid octogenarian who's currently trailing him in the majority of the swing states. That's pretty pathetic, considering a decent candidate should be miles ahead of someone recently liability-convicted of sexual assault, and facing just short of 100 other felony charges.
But maybe things will change, over then next 7 months or so. Definitely wouldn't bet business prospects on it though. :(
Great. Take an airline that's had serious reliability issues, but offers a pretty decent product and merge them with the Dollar Tree of the skies. Yeah, that's really "benefitting consumers!"
I wonder how Tim will work Delta into a comment?
He already did. Apparently two routes being cut that went to SLC is all about deltas pressure. So obnoxious