We’ve been reporting for the past year about JetBlue’s ambitions in Fort Lauderdale — executives at the carrier see a lot of opportunity in the popular leisure market. Now, JetBlue is closing its flight attendant base in Newark, along with its technology operations bases in Newark and LaGuardia.
JetBlue is also ending seasonal service of its routes between Newark and Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
All the shrinking in the NYC area is to accommodate more growth out of Fort Lauderdale. Instead, JetBlue is expanding transcontinental flying out of the Florida city, adding more daily Mint service to San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
Part of the reason JetBlue has been decreasing its presence in New York is because of expensive airport fees.
“When an airport creates a palace with $30, $40 cost per enplanement, there is no such thing as a free lunch. That ultimately is paid by customers,” JetBlue president Marty St. George said at an investor conference, referring to the renovations at LaGuardia. “That impact will ultimately come in fares and then elasticity. And frankly, we are much smaller at LaGuardia than we were four years ago because it’s a $40 airport for us.”
As more of travel moves into apps, live updates, mobile keys, and digital payments, connectivity is becoming a trust test for the entire experience.
EDITOR’S PICKS
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Norwegian Air To Buy Nordic Leisure Travel Group in $843m Bet on End-to-End Travel
by Gordon Smith
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Why settle for just the airfare when you can own the whole holiday?
Turkish Airlines’ New Chair Charts More Profitable Path to 800 Aircraft
by Gordon Smith
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The centenary deadline may have slipped, but Şeker's broader point is that Turkish Airlines is now big enough that the number of aircraft it operates matters less than what it does with them.
Canadian Tourists Bailed On the U.S. — Canadian Airlines Still See Growth
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As one of the largest travel markets continues to shrink due to political tensions, Canadian carriers told Skift that U.S. travel is still producing healthy margins.
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
The latest Airline Weekly global earnings scoreboard is in and the airline on top may not be the one you'd expect.
Jay joins Gordon and Meghna to sort the winners from the losers. Before that, we report back from the IATA AGM in Brazil, with the trends that mattered and essential insights from the conference floor.
