JetBlue takes aim at Spirit in 9-route Fort Lauderdale expansion; adds new South America city

JetBlue is making a big push in South Florida, where it will add a host of routes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) later this year.

The New York-based carrier's expansion unveiled Wednesday includes the return of several international destinations from the airport — and some it's never served from Fort Lauderdale. Among them: Cali, Colombia, an all-new destination for JetBlue.

When to go: These are the best times to buy an international flight

As part of this Sunshine State expansion, the carrier will also bring back its FLL flights to Cartagena, Colombia; Aruba; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and St. Maarten. It'll also connect FLL travelers to Costa Rica's Guanacaste Province for the first time. And, JetBlue revealed it will boost its flight offerings on nine additional routes spanning domestic, Mexico, Caribbean and Central America destinations.

It's the latest in a series of expansions JetBlue has announced at FLL in recent months, doubling down on the airport as a key area of focus after the carrier in 2024 pulled back on its flying in other parts of the country.

Even prior to Wednesday's announcement, the carrier's total departures out of FLL during the final quarter of 2025 were on track to be up nearly 6% over last year, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Going after Spirit?

Where JetBlue decided to add or bolster its service in Wednesday's announcement can't be overlooked, either.

JetBlue overlaps with top Fort Lauderdale competitor Spirit Airlines on 16 of the 18 new, returning or boosted routes it announced Wednesday. That comes as Spirit faces a precarious financial situation: The Dania Beach, Florida-based budget airline is now embroiled in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year, and has already begun slashing flights from its schedule.

While JetBlue did not make mention of Spirit — which it once sought to merge with — the company did note its increased strength at FLL:

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"As the top airline in Fort Lauderdale, with more departures than any other carrier on peak travel days, JetBlue is proud to keep raising the bar for customers in South Florida," said Dave Jehn, JetBlue's vice president of network planning and airline partnerships, in a statement announcing Wednesday's expansion.

Related: United Airlines adds flights in case Spirit fails

JetBlue's 9 new routes from FLL

Here's the full rundown of JetBlue's nine new and returning flights from Fort Lauderdale.

You'll see the return of several routes the carrier flew earlier this decade, along with some destinations the airline hasn't previously served from the airport.

Bolstering service on other routes

On top of the new and returning routes announced from FLL on Wednesday, JetBlue also said it will bolster its flying on a host of additional domestic and short-haul international flights.

Those include FLL service to the following nine cities:

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Cancun
• Hartford
• Kingston, Jamaica
• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
• San Jose, Costa Rica
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

Booking JetBlue flights with points

All of these flights can of course be booked using JetBlue's TrueBlue points.

Members without enough points in their loyalty account can transfer flexible rewards from several major programs. Those include:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards (points transfer at a 1:1 ratio)
• Capital One (5:3 ratio)
• American Express Membership Rewards (250:200 ratio)
• Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1, or 5:4 for cards that earn limited ThankYou points)

Related: JetBlue retires its smallest plane

Florida focus

JetBlue's increased Florida focus goes beyond more flights out of Fort Lauderdale. The carrier earlier this year announced a new partnership with private rail operator Brightline, allowing passengers to book air-and-rail connections in the Sunshine State.

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