JetBlue Network Thread - 2020

N766UA · Thu Sep 10, 2020 12:44 pm

lga31vfr wrote:
tphuang wrote:
It's not a surprise to me that they would announce more routes. JFK and BOS demands are still very low and they've committed to no furlough until May, so might as well try some new routes to see what stick around. Like other airlines, they are just trying to get additional revenue anyway they can.

EWR to island stuff are obvious adds after the domestic routes were announced. All those routes do well out of JFK. I'm sure when the time comes, the capacity level will have to get trimmed to demand. I'd say they are the most likely to stick around in some format. I also expect BGI to become daily.

LAX stuff are all probably part of their originally planned LAX expansion. I'd think they were planning to add them further down the road. But given the continued weakness in northeast, they are trying some new stuff. I'd say most of these are likely to stick around too. Although, I doubt they actually operate at the announced capacity levels anytime soon.

FLL-PSP/BZN are all quite ambitious. I'm not sure how long these stick around.

The RDU stuff are interesting. I've been advocating that they create a focus city there. I'm surprised MCO and TPA aren't part of the announcement. We will see what sticks around.

SFO-CUN is quite ambitious given their lack of presence there.

TPA is getting a lot of love from them recently. Again, not sure how much of it sticks around.

RIC stuff is interesting. A smaller market where they have decent presence and WN has not much presence. Not harm in trying this out. I am quite surprised by RIC-LAS. That came out of nowhere.

They need to stop being so east coast centric. There's more to the USA than just whats on the east coast.

Jetblue’s customer base is primarily east coast.

enilria · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:09 pm

FlyinRabbit88 wrote:
The press release just dropped a few minutes ago.
Really surprised at some of the routes to be honest.... hopefully some of these routes last and the demand starts coming back.

http://blueir.investproductions.com/inv ... -120017701

New Routes

The new markets announced today maximize revenue potential across JetBlue’s existing domestic and international network by:

Introducing all-new nonstop destinations from four JetBlue focus cities, plus expanded Mint service in Newark and Los Angeles.
Growing JetBlue’s New York City presence in Newark with more than a half dozen new routes to the Caribbean.
Building out the airline’s new Los Angeles focus city with expanded domestic and – for the first time in JetBlue’s history – international service at LAX.
Offering unique, new nonstop western U.S. destinations from Fort Lauderdale not served by any other airline.
Connecting a variety of new city pairs across the Southeast, Florida, the West Coast and the Caribbean and Latin America.
Advancing JetBlue’s position as the transcontinental leader with new markets never served coast-to-coast by the airline.

ADVANCING THE FOCUS CITY STRATEGY

Service between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and:
Aruba Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily | MINT on select flights
Cancún International Airport (CUN)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 2x daily
Montego Bay, Jamaica Sangster International Airport (MBJ)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
Nassau, Bahamas Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
Turks and Caicos Providenciales International Airport (PLS)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
Sint Maarten Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily | MINT on select flights
Service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and:
Charleston International Airport (CHS)
Launching December 18, 2020 | 1x daily
Cancún International Airport (CUN)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 2x daily
Liberia, Costa Rica Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR)*
Launching December 18, 2020 | 2x weekly | MINT on select flights
Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily | MINT on select flights
Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU)
Launching December 18, 2020 | 1x daily
Richmond International Airport (RIC)
Launching December 18, 2020 | 1x daily
San José, Costa Rica Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)*
Launching December 18, 2020 | 1x daily
Service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and:
Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN)
Launching December 18, 2020 | 2x weekly
Palm Springs International Airport (PSP)
Launching December 18, 2020 | 2x weekly
Service between San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) and:
Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU)
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
MORE FLORIDA FLYING

Service between Tampa International Airport (TPA) and:
Cancún International Airport (CUN)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
Richmond International Airport (RIC)
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
Service between Fort Myers Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) and:
Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU)
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
LARGER IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

Service between Cancún International Airport (CUN) and:
Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 2x daily
Service between Montego Bay, Jamaica Sangster International Airport (MBJ) and:
Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU)*
Launching November 19, 2020 | 1x daily
EXPANDING TRANSCON COMFORT

Service between Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) and:
Richmond International Airport (RIC)
Launching December 18, 2020 | 1x daily

SFO-CUN 2x daily? Believe it when I see it.

RL757PVD · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:10 pm

I'm surprised BDL-LAS wasn't on the list, even if less than daily, that route has been unserved for over a year now I believe, if not longer. Also lends some hope for a potential PVD-LAX come next spring or summer if things are on the upswing,

splitterz · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:33 pm

That's a lot of capacity they are adding into CUN. I'd be surprised if some of those stuck.

santi319 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:33 pm

What in the Frontier is going on here?

jplatts · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:35 pm

tphuang wrote:
RIC stuff is interesting. A smaller market where they have decent presence and WN has not much presence. Not harm in trying this out. I am quite surprised by RIC-LAS. That came out of nowhere.

WN could probably make RIC-LAS nonstop service work post-COVID-19 with LAS being a major focus city for WN, with there being a significant amount O&D demand between RIC and LAS prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with connections available to California at LAS on WN, and with there being a significant amount of passengers connecting to California from RIC prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I did not expect WN to add RIC-LAS nonstop service, even if the demand is there, with WN having already dropped nonstop service to LAS from some other East Coast markets and WN not serving LAS nonstop from some bigger East Coast markets.

I had previously mentioned that WN could add RIC-MDW/DEN nonstop service with
(a) the lack of RIC-MDW/DEN nonstop service being one of the remaining gaps in WN's network,
(b) RIC being one of the largest markets in the U.S. that WN doesn't currently serve nonstop from MDW or DEN,
(c) both MDW and DEN being major focus cities for WN,
(d) RIC having more O&D demand to Chicago market than some other contiguous U.S. markets that WN already serves nonstop from MDW,
(e) RIC being one of the top destinations that WN doesn't currently serve nonstop from DEN,
(f) connections available at MDW and DEN on WN that aren't available at ATL on WN, and
(g) the Chicago and Denver markets currently lacking nonstop LCC service from RIC.

B6 might be able to make RIC-LAS/LAX nonstop service work with the PDEW of RIC-LAS being 99 passengers per day in Q3 2019 and the PDEW of RIC-LAX being 105 passengers per day in Q3 2019. B6 can also use the A220 on RIC-LAS/LAX, whereas WN or ULCC's would need to use bigger planes on the RIC-LAS/LAX nonstop routes.

jfklganyc · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:36 pm

EWR and LAX are the big stories here.

Everything else is just noise.

Coming out of this I really expect those stations to have a lot of new flights

Scoots71 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:37 pm

Selfishly I wish they would've added BHM. That is a city that has been clamoring for JetBlue service, and BOS is one of their top final destinations not currently served. Also could use some competition for DL in the NY market by going after EWR/JFK, and maybe a 1x to LAX...

Sctvman · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:40 pm

The CHS-LAX flight is huge for our area. SC has never had a non-stop flight to California.

usflyer msp · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:41 pm

I predict only around 1/2 of these routes will actually launch and those that do will have around 1/2 the advertised frequency.

jfklganyc · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:41 pm

N766UA wrote:
lga31vfr wrote:
tphuang wrote:
It's not a surprise to me that they would announce more routes. JFK and BOS demands are still very low and they've committed to no furlough until May, so might as well try some new routes to see what stick around. Like other airlines, they are just trying to get additional revenue anyway they can.

EWR to island stuff are obvious adds after the domestic routes were announced. All those routes do well out of JFK. I'm sure when the time comes, the capacity level will have to get trimmed to demand. I'd say they are the most likely to stick around in some format. I also expect BGI to become daily.

LAX stuff are all probably part of their originally planned LAX expansion. I'd think they were planning to add them further down the road. But given the continued weakness in northeast, they are trying some new stuff. I'd say most of these are likely to stick around too. Although, I doubt they actually operate at the announced capacity levels anytime soon.

FLL-PSP/BZN are all quite ambitious. I'm not sure how long these stick around.

The RDU stuff are interesting. I've been advocating that they create a focus city there. I'm surprised MCO and TPA aren't part of the announcement. We will see what sticks around.

SFO-CUN is quite ambitious given their lack of presence there.

TPA is getting a lot of love from them recently. Again, not sure how much of it sticks around.

RIC stuff is interesting. A smaller market where they have decent presence and WN has not much presence. Not harm in trying this out. I am quite surprised by RIC-LAS. That came out of nowhere.

They need to stop being so east coast centric. There's more to the USA than just whats on the east coast.

Jetblue’s customer base is primarily east coast.

Time to change that.

Also, their customer base is primarily north east and Florida. They are irrelevant in most cities along the East Coast.

It is a glaring weakness

RicFlyer · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:46 pm

I know there had been discussions about RIC offering incentives for an airline to fly to the west coast. But for RIC to get both LAX and LAS WOW!!!! What RIC is missing, once NYC travel comes back, is B6 to JFK and code-share with AA on the flights.

Iggy500 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:51 pm

If you guys haven't seen it yet, here's the link to the press release: http://blueir.investproductions.com/inv ... -120017701

B6 must really mean business with today's announcement. I could also see them launching these routes in the near future:

ATL-LAX/SFO/SJU
FLL-CZM/GUA/LIR
LAX-BNA/PVR/SJD
MCO-LAS/RDU/SAN

MIAFLLPBIFlyer · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:52 pm

PBI-LAX didn't pan out for AA when they flew it in 2013, but this time on B6 with MINT it could be a winner.

FLL-PSP/BZN could do okay. MIA/FLL-PSP traffic I sense would be present particularly in winter if their were a nonstop option. We don't know how many people fly from south Florida to other airports in southern California and then drive to PSP. Just based on anecdotal evidence, I sense it is a fair number. Enough to support 2 weekly nonstops? Maybe.

flyby519 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:57 pm

santi319 wrote:
What in the Frontier is going on here?

This is hilarious :lol:

Iggy500 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:03 pm

flyby519 wrote:
santi319 wrote:
What in the Frontier is going on here?

This is hilarious

Agreed.

tphuang · Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:05 pm

jfklganyc wrote:
N766UA wrote:
lga31vfr wrote:

They need to stop being so east coast centric. There's more to the USA than just whats on the east coast.

Jetblue’s customer base is primarily east coast.

Time to change that.

Also, their customer base is primarily north east and Florida. They are irrelevant in most cities along the East Coast.

It is a glaring weakness

Aren't those additions to RDU, RIC and CHS aimed to strengthen them along the Atlantic coast? I'd be surprised if JFK-RIC/EWR-RDU don't happen once the AA deal gets finalized. Although I'd be surprised if all those routes stick around.

I'm surprised LAX additions came so soon. But with Northeast weakness, might as well try to expand their map now.

phxa340 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:06 pm

Lol LAX-CHS , good luck. AS can make it work because of Boeing from Seattle. How many passengers are really flying this route and or connections that couldn’t connect somewhere more convenient?

flyby519 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:10 pm

A lot of these routes seem prime for A220s when they come on property. Maybe pulling forward some planned expansion since they have spare 320s

FlyGuy27 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:33 pm

As a frequent EWR user, very pleased to see B6 turn up the heat on UA. UA (and CO before them) have long charged a pretty penny to fly to the islands / Mexico direct out of EWR. Looking forward to riding on a B6 plane vs. the ex-CO 737's.

BlueBaller · Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:37 pm

flyby519 wrote:
A lot of these routes seem prime for A220s when they come on property. Maybe pulling forward some planned expansion since they have spare 320s

Precisely my thinking. Coronarules threw the whole playbook out the window and it looks like B6 is priming these markets they eventually planned on serving the A220s with. Since their dissent for the E190 is widely known, and a socially distanced A320 still can't even sell the number of seats a Post-COVID A220 can, it seems like a good gateway into the long-thin routes. If they can especially hang onto the LAX transcons, even going subdaily, until there's enough A220s to swap over with, they have a good chance at being permanent adds.

RL757PVD · Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:58 pm

I'm not usually one of bang the merger drum but the conspiracy theorist in me thinks they are beefing up EWR to make it an easy divestment for someone wanting to buy B6 for their JFK assets or vice-versa if UA

atcsundevil · Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:59 pm

RicFlyer wrote:
I know there had been discussions about RIC offering incentives for an airline to fly to the west coast. But for RIC to get both LAX and LAS WOW!!!! What RIC is missing, once NYC travel comes back, is B6 to JFK and code-share with AA on the flights.

The problem with RIC-NYC flights is that they're some of the most delayed flights in the NAS. Obviously flights already in the air get priority, meaning origins closer to the destination have to wait for a gap in overflight traffic. Washington gets priority, so RIC/ORF and to a lesser extent RDU get the shaft. JetBlue ditched RIC-JFK probably about eight years ago (?) ostensibly to make better use of the slots, but I can only imagine the delays due to lengthy EDCTs play a big part. I don't blame JetBlue for not wanting to play that game. They need to maximize operational efficiencies a little more than the legacies.

Regardless, RIC-LAS/LAX is huge. It's always amazed me that a city the size of Richmond hadn't been able to secure a west coast flight. DEN was a big step, but this could (and should) be a catalyst for more growth. There's more west coast travel out of RIC than most people realize; UA going double-daily to DEN in peak season (obviously back in normal times) helps to illustrate that. I regularly had a dozen or more pax connect with me on flights from RIC-PHX for the years I regularly flew that route. Sure that's anecdotal, but the number of people who regularly had to connect to west coast destinations is pretty indicative that it can support some growth.

Some of these decisions do strike me as a little bit Frontier-ish, but I think there was actually some thought put into this, as opposed to Frontier's patented dart board model. My only concern is how they can sustain some of this with a potentially uncertain future ahead for the industry and economy, but right now it seems like everybody is going all-in to kickstart bookings. Time will tell whether or not it's a smart move.

JAXDan · Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:04 pm

It's disappointing that JAX keeps getting shut out of route announcements. Anyone have any insight why B6 would add RIC-LAX and RIC-LAS before at least trying JAX?

MIflyer12 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:09 pm

RL757PVD wrote:
I'm not usually one of bang the merger drum but the conspiracy theorist in me thinks they are beefing up EWR to make it an easy divestment for someone wanting to buy B6 for their JFK assets or vice-versa if UA

That's your take, rather than the double-digit fare premium of out EWR reported by the quarterly DOT Domestic Airline Fares Consumer Report? EWR is both a big and high-fare airport. B6 has a pretty good cost advantage vs. UA. Pick the routes properly and this should be easy money.

einsteinboricua · Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:17 pm

I'm surprised that EWR is not listed as a focus city, yet SJU still is. I know B6 took over many AA and OW flights in SJU but that has been scaled down significantly.

jplatts · Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:30 pm

JAXDan wrote:
It's disappointing that JAX keeps getting shut out of route announcements. Anyone have any insight why B6 would add RIC-LAX and RIC-LAS before at least trying JAX?

WN already has a much bigger presence at JAX with WN serving BWI, MDW, DEN, HOU, and BNA nonstop from JAX but not RIC. WN can also more easily connect passengers to Western U.S. destinations from JAX through HOU or DEN.

In addition to the bigger WN presence at JAX, AA also has more nonstop service to its DFW hub from JAX than from RIC, and UA also has more nonstop service to its IAH hub from JAX than from RIC.

Nicknuzzii · Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:34 pm

einsteinboricua wrote:
I'm surprised that EWR is not listed as a focus city, yet SJU still is. I know B6 took over many AA and OW flights in SJU but that has been scaled down significantly.

I think it is.

trueblew · Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:35 pm

Nicknuzzii wrote:
Is EWR a focus city yet?

It already is. New York is a focus city, and it includes EWR/JFK/LGA. If you notice on recent expansions they are touting the "NYC Area" and label it as such on some route maps.

Apologies for the image size.

Sctvman · Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:36 pm

phxa340 wrote:
Lol LAX-CHS , good luck. AS can make it work because of Boeing from Seattle. How many passengers are really flying this route and or connections that couldn’t connect somewhere more convenient?

It’s only 1 flight a day, but 162 passenger planes is a lot. Probably a big subsidy from the county a reason why.

https://www.live5news.com/2020/09/10/je ... dQY2kDRPnw

MAH4546 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:08 pm

tphuang wrote:
I

FLL-PSP/BZN are all quite ambitious. I'm not sure how long these stick around.

Two weekly flights connecting America’s fourth largest urban area with two very popular domestic vacation destinations isn’t “ambitious.” It’s actually quite simple and common sense.

Ambitious is thin transcon flying from LAX and adding significant overcapacity in markets like Raleigh-Caribbean and Los Angeles-Cancun/Costa Rica.

Ishrion · Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:43 pm

Not sure if this was previously known, but in JetBlue's response to Aer Lingus joining the IAG/AA/AY joint venture, JetBlue states it's requesting at least four daily LHR slot pairs to "meaningfully serve the U.S.-LHR market and provide a desperately-needed competitive alternative to the oneworld and SkyTeam immunized JVs"

https://beta.regulations.gov/document/D ... -0252-3445

jco613 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:47 pm

Looks like LAX routes were in the cards to begin with. FLL-PSP is a warning shot at WN. The other adds are just to get people And planes moving and as profitable as possible. We will continue to see these adds moving forward. Every airline now has a Frontier dart board in their route planning office because somethings gotta stick!

One note is DL has essentially pulled out of The RDU Focus city since covid. No word on if this is permanent but B6 May be trying to emulate the DL focus city there. They’d be smart to do so because RDU might be back sooner than most markets and many employees who would otherwise be furloughed from the northeast would love to relocate there. It’s a cheaper and easier lifestyle.

tphuang · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:03 pm

Putting some things into perspective.

2015 Q3, before JetBlue entered BUF-LAX market. PDEW/average fare from LAX to some of the cities
BUF 202 at $293
JAX 158 at $326
RIC 138 at $334
CHS 101 at $338

2019 Q3 after several years of JetBlue in BUF-LAX.
BUF 270 at $266, JetBlue averaged $245 here
JAX 168 at $311
RIC 154 at $324
CHS 114 at $331

So lowering fare by 20% (B6's fare vs average 2015 fare) and adding direct service simulated enough demand to added about 30% to PDEW on top of the usual year to year growth. Consider that RIC/CHS started out with higher fares than BUF, lowering fare to same level as BUF (close to 30% drop) + offering direct service could add about 40% to PDEW from both places. Sure, BUF drew some Canadian traffic, but RIC would definitely draw traffic away from IAD/ORF/CHO. Keep in mind, ORF PDEW to LAX was 182 with average fare of $345 and CHO-LAX PDEW was 30 at $325. CHS could draw traffic away from SAV/MYR.

Add 40% to RIC/CHS, you get about 215 to RIC and 155 to CHS. Now if you factor in flying these routes with 140 seat A220 vs 162 seat A320, you would only need to fill 110 seats instead of 130 seats to reach 80% LF. As they grow LAX, they will be able to offer more connections at LAX which was not available when BUF was launched.

I'm more optimistic that RIC will succeed vs CHS. I don't know what kind of incentives (if any) were offered to launch these routes.

As for JAX, I'd assume they will try it at some point. Maybe they think it's a tough market to crack since DL/AA offer such convenient connections at ATL/CLT.

I'm quite surprised by RIC-LAS. PDEW in Q3 of 2019 was 99 with average fare of $292. I don't see how they could make this work with O&D.

MAH4546 wrote:
tphuang wrote:
I

FLL-PSP/BZN are all quite ambitious. I'm not sure how long these stick around.

Two weekly flights connecting America’s fourth largest urban area with two very popular domestic vacation destinations isn’t “ambitious.” It’s actually quite simple and common sense.

Ambitious is thin transcon flying from LAX and adding significant overcapacity in markets like Raleigh-Caribbean and Los Angeles-Cancun/Costa Rica.

JetBlue is a distance 2nd or 3rd place carrier in South Florida. It's going to capture just a fraction of demand to PSP/BZN with 2 weekly flights.

PSP is a really small market outside of a couple of months of the year. To put things into perspective, MIA-PSP PDEW for Q3 of 2019 was 14.

jbs2886 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:07 pm

Fascinating. Major events like the pandemic (or catastrophic hurricanes, etc.) usually result in shake-ups of routes and market shares. JetBlue is really looking aggressive on this front, along with UA. AA and DL are largely sitting back (especially DL, which is pretty unusual for it).

speedbird2263 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:27 pm

santi319 wrote:
What in the Frontier is going on here?

Well played...well played.

jayunited · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:30 pm

CobaltScar wrote:
Seems like the other baby threads about the network announcements need to be merged into here.

At what point does United get worried about these big B6 expansions into LAX and especially EWR? I sure do know who i'd rather fly on routes out of these cities, and its not back in coach on a United plane.

B6 made a major announcement earlier this year about EWR and then had to face reality, NYC market still hasn't come back. At some point it will and UA will have to deal with B6 but I don't see UA being "worried" about B6's presence at EWR UA is more than capable of defending itself at EWR.

As far as LAX UA is use to competition at LAX, pre-COVID and even now we are slogging out against AA, DL, AS, WN, NK, B6 and a whole host of international carriers. LAX is one of the most competitive airports in the US, and if UA could survive at LAX during the Smisek era, (which was tough because that is when DL made a major push at LAX, followed a few years later then by AA aggressive growth) then UA can most certainly survive B6's. Pre-COVID UA grew DEN from a 300 departures a day (peak summer travel season) to 500 departures a day (peak summer travel season) this despite WN's aggressive growth at DEN and F9 presence at DEN. People thought UA was crazy to take on WN at DEN but not only did UA under Kirby grow DEN but DEN also became UA's more profitable hub in the process.

This isn't the same UA from 2008-2016.

jplatts · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:35 pm

tphuang wrote:
I'm quite surprised by RIC-LAS. PDEW in Q3 of 2019 was 99 with average fare of $292. I don't see how they could make this work with O&D.

While WN hasn't yet added RIC-LAS nonstop service, WN could probably easily fill RIC-LAS nonstop flights if WN added RIC-LAS nonstop service with LAS being a major WN focus city and with WN being able to offer connections to BUR, LAX, OAK, ONT, SMF, SNA, SAN, SFO, and SJC through LAS.

However, I probably do not expect WN to add RIC-LAS nonstop service, even if the demand is there, with WN having already dropped nonstop service to LAS from ALB, BDL, ISP, JAX, MHT, EWR, ORF, PHL, PVD, and IAD on the East Coast and with WN not serving LAS nonstop from some other East Coast markets that are bigger by population than RIC such as BOS, CLT, and GSP.

DLASFlyer · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:36 pm

jbs2886 wrote:
Fascinating. Major events like the pandemic (or catastrophic hurricanes, etc.) usually result in shake-ups of routes and market shares. JetBlue is really looking aggressive on this front, along with UA. AA and DL are largely sitting back (especially DL, which is pretty unusual for it).

Agreed, DL's lack of additions amid all the subtractions is quite remarkable. Have they added anything the last few months other than SEA-ONT?

flyfresno · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:41 pm

Will B6 grow LAS into a major focus city? Could we see them compete on routes to mid-sized West Coast markets, especially those that DL recently abdicated?

avi8 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:48 pm

I was kind of hoping they would switch JFK-GUA to LAX-GUA and still start service this year, but I know that was far-fetched.

jbs2886 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:56 pm

DLASFlyer wrote:
jbs2886 wrote:
Fascinating. Major events like the pandemic (or catastrophic hurricanes, etc.) usually result in shake-ups of routes and market shares. JetBlue is really looking aggressive on this front, along with UA. AA and DL are largely sitting back (especially DL, which is pretty unusual for it).

Agreed, DL's lack of additions amid all the subtractions is quite remarkable. Have they added anything the last few months other than SEA-ONT?

Don't think so. I do think one big difference is DL has been able to shed FAR more aircraft than other airlines so DL will likely reach profitability much faster, at that point DL may start getting aggressive.

I'm still floored over LAX-CHS and the RDU additions. Not a big JetBlue fan, but props.

usflyer msp · Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:09 pm

jco613 wrote:
FLL-PSP is a warning shot at WN.

Huh? There is no way WN would ever fly FLL-PSP. In fact, I doubt B6 will actually start it. I can see adding flights from cold places to PSP but why does someone from Florida need to go to PSP. The only people I could see actually flying this route regularly are the male prostitutes from Wilton Manors. :stirthepot:

gdavis003 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:09 pm

Scoots71 wrote:
Selfishly I wish they would've added BHM. That is a city that has been clamoring for JetBlue service, and BOS is one of their top final destinations not currently served. Also could use some competition for DL in the NY market by going after EWR/JFK, and maybe a 1x to LAX...

As a BHM resident myself, I was really hoping for this as well. Would really love to see JetBlue at BHM and definitely think BHM-BOS could work very well. I would love to have a BHM-EWR flight as well, as that's a route that I frequently travel for travel to NJ. I tend to actually fly AA on BHM-PHL since it's direct and that saves a whole hassle. If there was a direct to EWR on either B6 or UA, that'd be phenomenal. I think UA could make that work well with an E170/175. I believe that was a former Continental route.

phllax · Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:11 pm

MIAFLLPBIFlyer wrote:
PBI-LAX didn't pan out for AA when they flew it in 2013, but this time on B6 with MINT it could be a winner.

I think the reasons why LAX and LAS to PBI have failed is that it's been a red-eye. That market will work much better eastbound with daylight service.

gdavis003 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:11 pm

jbs2886 wrote:
DLASFlyer wrote:
jbs2886 wrote:
Fascinating. Major events like the pandemic (or catastrophic hurricanes, etc.) usually result in shake-ups of routes and market shares. JetBlue is really looking aggressive on this front, along with UA. AA and DL are largely sitting back (especially DL, which is pretty unusual for it).

Agreed, DL's lack of additions amid all the subtractions is quite remarkable. Have they added anything the last few months other than SEA-ONT?

Don't think so. I do think one big difference is DL has been able to shed FAR more aircraft than other airlines so DL will likely reach profitability much faster, at that point DL may start getting aggressive.

I'm still floored over LAX-CHS and the RDU additions. Not a big JetBlue fan, but props.

CHS is a massive travel destination these days. I'm currently here on travel, and it's definitely busy. Lots of outdoor activities and a beautiful city to explore. B6 very clearly going after the leisure market, LAX-CHS could work quite well as a COVID addition

GSP psgr · Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:25 pm

I've always thought that B6 missed a chance by not going bigger in RDU than they did. It's the perfect location to tie together the BOS/NYC and Florida wings of the operation, and it's a market that they could build around in the South. Take somewhere like MEM or GSP or SDF. Could they support a daily service to BOS? Sure. But probably not more than one. But if you build out RDU a bit, it's a logical destination for a lot of the South, especially given the phenomenal growth of the Research Triangle.

Lavdumper69 · Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:28 pm

Completely agree that many of these routes would be perfect for the A220-300 with its range and already lower break even point. What is the timing for the first A220 delivery at JB and how many expected in 2021? I suppose "surplus" A320s could be used in the interim but many of these routes are ideal candidates for the A220.

trueblew · Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:33 pm

usflyer msp wrote:
jco613 wrote:
FLL-PSP is a warning shot at WN.

Huh? There is no way WN would ever fly FLL-PSP. In fact, I doubt B6 will actually start it. I can see adding flights from cold places to PSP but why does someone from Florida need to go to PSP. The only people I could see actually flying this route regularly are the male prostitutes from Wilton Manors.

That was my first thought as well :rotfl:

Anyone have the MPDEW data? It is likely greater than zero.

maps4ltd · Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:33 pm

JetBlue is quickly locking down Newark.

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