JetBlue adds 8 routes, grows 6 others in big network expansion

JetBlue Airways seemingly thinks that the path to profitability lies in the Sunshine State.

The New York-based carrier announced on Thursday a major expansion across Florida, Central America and the Caribbean, including 14 new and resuming routes to places like Vero Beach, Daytona Beach and Liberia, Costa Rica. You'll find the full list of new routes at the bottom of this post.

All of the new flights will commence in December, just in time for winter-weary travelers to find some sunshine.

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In Florida, JetBlue will inaugurate its first-ever service to Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB) from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Furthermore, the airline will return to Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) — also with routes from BOS and JFK — for the first time since 2019.

Elsewhere, the airline will expand its presence at one of its newest outstations in New York — Islip's Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), east of New York City — with new routes to Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers and Tampa International Airport (TPA). This joins existing flights from ISP to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Palm Beach International Airport (PBI).

"Florida continues to be a place JetBlue's unique combination of low fares and great service resonates, and we're proud to grow our footprint with these new destinations to meet customer demand for more of the Sunshine State. Whether it's customers in the Northeast looking for a warm getaway or Floridians traveling north, we're excited to bring more choices and better service to these markets," said Dave Jehn, JetBlue's vice president, network planning and airline partnerships, in a statement.

It's no secret that JetBlue is working to return to profitability. The airline is doubling down on trying to capture leisure traffic, especially those traveling between Florida and the Northeast.

JetBlue has shed many of its business-focused routes from the Northeast and has instead pointed its planes at Florida. That's a tried-and-true move for the airline, which originally launched 25 years ago with what's essentially the same network strategy.

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JetBlue won't be alone in serving some of these new markets. In fact, new airline startups Avelo and Breeze have been busy expanding their presence in Daytona Beach — a market that they claim has been historically underserved by legacy airlines.

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With JetBlue adding service from its two key Northeast hubs, it'll be interesting to see how Avelo and Breeze might react with their service to Daytona Beach from New Haven and Westchester County, respectively.

Furthermore, Breeze is the only other airline serving Vero Beach, and JetBlue's flights from Boston and New York will likely appeal to a broader catchment area than Breeze's from Providence, Rhode Island, and Islip and Westchester County in New York.

In addition to the big Florida expansion, JetBlue will continue to grow its Latin America presence from Boston, where it's been fighting Delta for dominance in the local market.

From Boston, JetBlue will offer daily service to Liberia Guanacaste Airport (LIR) in Costa Rica; Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) in St. Maarten; Cyril E. King Airport (STT) in St. Thomas; and Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) in Nassau, Bahamas starting Dec. 18 — as well as adding second weekly flights on Saturdays to Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM) in Grand Cayman and Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) in Bridgetown, Barbados, around the holidays. The airline already operates these routes; it's just frequency increases in these markets.

Meanwhile, JetBlue will also offer new daily routes to the Dominican Republic from Florida: from FLL to Cibao International Airport (STI) in Santiago de los Caballeros starting Dec. 13 for the holiday season, and year-round service from TPA to Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) beginning Dec. 18.

Notably, JetBlue's frequency increases seem pointed at Delta, which also operates in half of these markets. Yet, JetBlue isn't shying away from going after Delta.

"This year, JetBlue will offer the most flights from Boston to the Caribbean and Florida with nearly double the number of seats between Boston and Florida and nearly four times as many flights to Latin America and the Caribbean as the next largest carrier this December," the airline's announcement reads. (Yes, the "next-largest carrier" is Delta, according to Cirium schedules.)

It remains to be seen how JetBlue will fare in all these new markets, but the airline is making some pretty significant network changes to return to profitability. In addition to this announcement, JetBlue in recent months has added other new routes and redeployed Mint-equipped aircraft to new domestic premium markets.

That's all before the airline's new domestic business class and airport lounges are expected to debut in the coming months.

JetBlue's 14 new and expanded routes

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