JetBlue begins flying new "tag" routes in order to comply with CARES Act
Call it a sign of the times.
As a condition of receiving federal money under the CARES Act, airlines must maintain "a minimum level of service" between city pairs that were served before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, reducing the demand for air travel to practically nothing.
For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
JetBlue, instead of maintaining nonstop service between its major hubs and other cities on its route map, will fly flights with "tag" segments connecting the origin to the final destination, according to Paxex.Aero. This means that flyers will have the opportunity to fly routes that did not exist on the carrier's pre-coronavirus route map.
For example, instead of flying separate nonstop flights between New York-JFK and Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) and Minneapolis (MSP), JetBlue will temporarily fly JFK-ORD-MSP. This way, it can (try to) combat the almost complete lack of demand, reduce costs for the airline and satisfy the criteria spelled out in the CARES Act.
Some of the other routes with "tag" segments include:
- Boston (BOS) - Denver (DEN) - Albuquerque (ABQ)
- Boston - New Orleans (MSY) - Houston (IAH)
- Boston - Las Vegas (LAS) - San Diego (SAN)
- Boston - Seattle (SEA) - Portland (PDX)
- Long Beach (LGB) - Palm Springs (PSP) - New York-JFK
- Long Beach - Salt Lake City (SLC) - Bozeman (BZN)
- New York-JFK - Denver - Albuquerque
- New York-JFK - New Orleans - Houston
- New York-JFK - Las Vegas - San Diego
- New York-JFK - Seattle - Portland
- New York-JFK - San Francisco (SFO) - Sacramento (SMF)
- New York-JFK - Orlando (MCO) - Sarasota (SRQ)
Some of the transcontinental premium routes like BOS-LAS, JFK-LAS and JFK-SFO will maintain the airline's lauded Mint service up front, but when those aircraft continue on their "tag" segments, there won't be Mint service.
Bottom line
From a purely AvGeek perspective, it's interesting to see JetBlue piece together these routes, and there are certainly some routes (looking at you, Denver-Albuquerque) that we'd love to fly if we weren't still in the middle of a global pandemic.
However, the reality of these new routings is that they underpin an airline -- in fact an entire industry -- that's in survival mode. Getting around the country isn't going to be as convenient or as quick as it was before the US began to shelter in place, and it's certainly logical that airlines are beginning to approach their route maps this way to guarantee service while minimizing cost during a time where every carrier is burning cash at a rate that was almost unfathomable before.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.