JetBlue revealed that it will stop operating flights from popular US cities, including several routes to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, in the near future.
Travelers hoping to catch flights from JFK to Austin and Houston, Texas, and Miami, Florida, should reevaluate their travel plans as JetBlue told employees Wednesday that those routes will be cut in 2025. cnbc,
Other routes around the US by the major airline include flights from Westchester, NY to Charleston, SC and between Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The airliner is also stopping all flights from San Jose and will stop using its Mint business class on Seattle flights.
For those who want to use aircraft out of JFK to fly across the Atlantic, the company has announced it will remove flights between the Big Apple airport and London’s Gatwick Airport. It will also discontinue its second JFK-Paris flight, CNBC reported.
The changes were announced as JetBlue’s latest steps toward continued profitability and cost cutting.
JetBlue explained, “Recently, we have made some network adjustments in some markets, removing some underperforming flights from our schedule, allowing us to free resources to high-demand markets and new opportunities, including our popular Mint service. And permission to redeploy has been granted.” cnbc In a statement.
The announcement comes after JetBlue said its revenue and bookings were better than expected in November and December, resulting in shares rising more than 8% on Wednesday.
However, the airline said it has faced profit problems in Florida since the end of the COVID pandemic.
“Florida remains a strong geography for JetBlue, however, post-COVID, we have not been profitable due to the dominance of legacy carriers like American and Delta in Miami,” said Dave Zehn, JetBlue’s vice president of network planning and airline partnerships. ” Shop.
JetBlue also said that ending service between JFK and Miami would greatly overwhelm the carrier’s base in Miami, and that it is working on options with crew members, such as transferring them to other cities served by the company. to do.
JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty and her team are focusing on reducing costs and eliminating unprofitable routes, Jehn said.
However, the carrier said it would continue flying from Miami to Boston.
The company said passengers affected by the upcoming changes can choose alternative flight options or possibly receive a refund if no other route is available.
The announcement of the airliner’s permanent flight cancellations and diversions also comes as the company and others in the industry deal with Pratt & Whitney engine groundings.
In 2023, Pratt & Whitney’s parent company RTX said a rare powder metal defect This may cause cracking of some engine components.
When the issue was announced, an estimated 600 to 700 engines needed to be inspected for cracks in the high pressure turbine discs and high pressure compressor discs. Each inspection takes up to approximately 300 days to execute.
according to airline geeksIn 2024, JetBlue grounded an average of about 11 aircraft due to engine unavailability. The New York-based airliner uses the PW1100G and PW1500G engines to power its A220 and A321neo fleet.
JetBlue’s third-quarter earnings report said it expects the number of grounded aircraft to average in the mid to high teens in 2025.
The announcement is also like this Some top airline executives of the countryWho were questioned on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for packing fees for checked luggage, assigned seats and other amenities to overcharge passengers.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate Investigations subcommittee, impeached top executives from American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Frontier and criticized the carriers for charging exploitative fees.
JetBlue executives were not among the airlines being questioned by the committee.
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