JetBlue adds 16 routes, 5 new cities in big summer expansion

Now that the route cuts seem to be in the rearview mirror, JetBlue is rebuilding its network in a big way.

The New York-based carrier announced on Wednesday a major network expansion for the upcoming season. JetBlue will add a whopping 16 routes, including five all-new pins to its route map, as part of the expansion.

You'll catch all of the details below, and all the new flights are already available for booking.

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JetBlue adds 11 New York routes, including JFK's shortest

Highlighting the expansion is the addition of 11 routes from the New York area.

The airline's main New York City base at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will see seven new routes to places as close as Hartford and Washington, D.C., and cities as far away as San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

The new Honduras route marks the airline's first-ever foray into the country, and San Pedro Sula will become a new pin for the leisure carrier.

Interestingly, flights from New York to Hartford, Providence and Burbank, California, won't see any direct nonstop competition. All the other routes are already flown by other airlines, so JetBlue will need to convince flyers to choose it over the competition.

Furthermore, at just 106 miles, the new route from JFK to Hartford's Bradley International Airport (BDL) will become the airport's shortest. (The second-shortest is JFK to Worcester Regional Airport (ORH) in Massachusetts, at 150 miles.)

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In addition to the new JFK routes, JetBlue will relaunch two routes from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). These include service to Los Angeles and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The former will be operated by Mint-equipped Airbus A321 aircraft, offering lie-flat business-class pods for those in the pointy end of the plane.

Interestingly, the resumption of Newark to LA flights comes shortly after the airline ended service between the airports last October. The route from the New York City area to LA is known as one of the most competitive in the country, especially for premium travelers, so JetBlue flyers based near Newark will likely be excited about this resumption. (Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines also offer multiple daily flights from Newark to LA.)

Finally, JetBlue will also grow one of its newest airports in New York with one new route. That's Islip's Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), which will soon be connected with daily summer-seasonal flights to Boston.

This new addition will be great for travelers based on Long Island looking to visit Boston or connect from Boston onward to one of JetBlue's other destinations. It'll save flyers a commute to JFK or train riders a leg to Penn Station.

JetBlue boosts Boston with 5 new routes

JetBlue's other big Northeast hub, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), will see five new routes this summer season.

The exciting part is that four of the five new routes are to all-new cities for JetBlue, including:

• Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Norfolk, Virginia
• Traverse City, Michigan
• Wilmington, North Carolina

All of these new routes will operate seasonally in the summer, and at least two carriers already operate them. JetBlue is Boston's biggest airline, so perhaps it can convince locals to choose it over the (fierce) competition.

Some of these new routes are likely designed not only as point-to-point service but also to boost connectivity from Boston to other JetBlue cities, especially its transatlantic routes.

This summer, JetBlue will add service to Edinburgh, Scotland, and Madrid from Boston, joining existing routes to Amsterdam, Dublin, London and Paris. Flyers looking for a European adventure from any of the new cities will now have a new one-stop way to get there.

JetBlue's other new routes

In addition to all the aforementioned expansion, JetBlue will also grow its presence in Guatemala City with a new daily flight to Fort Lauderdale beginning April 30.

Furthermore, the airline will transition its winter-seasonal service to year-round on two routes: Providence to Tampa and Hartford to Fort Myers, Florida.

Bottom line

All these new routes are part of the airline's JetForward strategy, which has been enacted under new leadership from CEO Joanna Geraghty and is designed to get the carrier back to profitability.

As part of the plan, the airline is redeploying about 20% of its flying to more profitable pastures. (JetBlue's plan is to boost service from the Northeast, where it has long been among the biggest carriers.)

Last year, the airline filed three major network shake-ups via a slew of route cuts and several station exits. Former CEO Robin Hayes was ultimately responsible for many of the routes that were cut, paving the way for new leadership to switch up its network strategy.

Whether these new routes will work is anyone's guess, but JetBlue is definitely doing its part to get back in the green.

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