JetBlue's 1st Amsterdam flights are officially on sale
Quick summary
Going Dutch?
JetBlue announced schedules on Tuesday for its first flights from New York and Boston to Amsterdam, with tickets going on sale immediately.
Round-trip tickets in economy are available starting at $479, while flights in the airline's Mint business class start at $1,899 for U.S.-originating travelers.
Daily flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) will start on Aug. 29, with the return service starting a day later.
| JFK to AMS: Flight 2288 | AMS to JFK: Flight 2289 |
|---|---|
| 10 p.m. to 11:35 a.m. (all times local). | 1:35 to 4 p.m. (all times local). |
Flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) will begin on Sept. 20, while the return flight starts the following day.
| BOS to AMS: Flight 31 | AMS to BOS: Flight 32 |
|---|---|
| 8 p.m. to 9:35 a.m. (all times local). | 11:35 a.m. to 2 p.m. (all times local). |
While the route will operate year-round, the new flights miss the prime summer travel season.
JetBlue announced its third European destination earlier this month, with the route announcement following a legal spat that eventually saw a Dutch court block a proposed limit on annual departures and arrivals from Amsterdam. Although the airline was initially awarded temporary takeoff and landing slots for the summer, it said it would not begin the route without year-round permissions.
At the time of the initial announcement, the airline only confirmed that flights would launch "later this summer" from JFK with flights from BOS coming at a later date.
The Amsterdam announcement comes less than two months after JetBlue confirmed launch details for its new flights to Paris, which begin from JFK on June 29. The airline has said it plans to add service from Boston as well.
Like its other transatlantic routes, including New York and Boston to London, JetBlue will fly to Amsterdam with its Airbus A321LR, which features the airline's top-of-the-line Mint Suites and Studios.
The 22 Mint Suites feature seats in a 1-1 herringbone layout, with seats angled slightly toward the aisle. Each suite is fully enclosed and has a sliding door that closes all the way. Every suite also features a 17-inch screen, plenty of storage space and an integrated wireless phone charger.
The two Mint Studios at the front of the cabin have even more extra space, plus two windows, a belted side seat (so a travel companion can come and chat, or so you can move around a bit) and a 22-inch screen. The Studios have a price premium over the Suites.
There are also 114 Core economy seats, 24 of which are Even More Space extra legroom seats. All 114 seats feature adjustable headrests with what the airline describes as "shoulder-friendly sidewalls." Core seats have 10.1-inch screens, organized seat pockets and USB and standard AC power ports.
JetBlue had six A321LRs at the end of 2022 and expects to receive a total of seven across 2023 and 2024. It has an additional 13 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, which feature a further extended range, on order. Deliveries are planned to begin in 2024.
During a call with investors on Tuesday, JetBlue's head of revenue and planning, Dave Clark, said that the airline plans to expand its European service as it receives more aircraft deliveries.
"Looking at what we've now announced between London, Paris and Amsterdam, as those ramp up, it'll be about 10 flights per day, which would take the first 11 of the 26 [long-range] airplanes [we have on order]," Clark said.
Once those three markets are in full swing, he added, the airline plans to begin flying on less-obvious routes.
"I think you can see us be a bit more creative and spread over where we want to go and use some of the features of our aircraft that are unique and fit some markets really well," Clark said.
"So more to come, but for most of next year you'll see us ramping up these markets we've already announced," he added.