JetBlue Announces Florida Expansion and Flights to Europe

A long-desired route between Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee will now be served by American low-cost airline JetBlue. The airline has disclosed significant plans for Florida expansion.

Recent news about JetBlue has not been favorable; according to rumors, the DOJ is attempting to thwart the airline’s merger with Spirit. According to additional sources, in order for the merger to go through, it would have to renounce the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines. JetBlue made an interesting statement today on plans to expand in Florida and a new route.

The airline located in New York City will run flights from Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport to Tallahassee International Airport beginning in January 2024. Long demanded by travelers, the connection connecting the two Florida cities will finally be implemented in less than a year.

Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee is a significant commercial and academic hub. It’s tough to drive swiftly because of how far it is from South Florida. JetBlue intends to start daily services between FLL and TLH as a result next year.

John Dailey, Mayor of Tallahassee said: “I am proud to welcome JetBlue to Florida’s capital city! Tallahassee is thriving, and this exciting news is another example of the many great things coming to fruition around our growing community and at the Tallahassee International Airport. The addition of JetBlue is the result of long-term, focused planning efforts and investments at TLH to expand air service in a way that brings value to our community.” John Dailey, Mayor, Tallahassee.

Despite recent reports indicating that efforts would be made to block the Spirit-JetBlue merger, today’s announcement from JetBlue assumes that the transaction will be authorized. By 2027, JetBlue might offer 250 daily flights from FLL following the proposed merger. JetBlue has previously made it clear that it intends to construct a new terminal 5 at FLL with extra gates just for the airline.

“As a customer-centric alternative to the high-fare legacy airline that dominates South Florida, we have achieved rapid growth in Fort Lauderdale and are ready to turbocharge further expansion once we combine with Spirit,” said Robin Hayes, Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue

Hayes continued by saying that he thinks JetBlue will be able to compete with the major four American airlines and expand the Florida market.

Spirit and JetBlue have experienced significant success in Fort Lauderdale, and JetBlue believes that partnering with Spirit will significantly improve its potential.
JetBlue said today that it will start offering flights to Europe from Florida. “With a more competitive position in South Florida, JetBlue would plan to launch service between Fort Lauderdale and Europe with its game-changing transatlantic Mint and core experiences that have brought down high fares for European travel.”

JetBlue has ordered the Airbus A321XLR, which would enable such flights. JetBlue’s initial XLR delivery date is unknown, but Airbus anticipates the type entering service in 2024.