‘Florida is very much a bright spot’: JetBlue begins first Miami airport flights
JetBlue flights took off Thursday from Miami International Airport for the first time.
Headed for New York, Newark, Boston and Los Angeles, the new daily flights mark the discount airline’s MIA debut after years of service from Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.
The Miami launch is part of a more “comprehensive South Florida strategy,” said Scott Laurence, the airline’s head of revenue and planning. The airline continues to serve Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and Palm Beach International.
“Miami was the busiest airport we didn’t serve,” he said. “We found more and more of our customers are destined for Miami.”
While airlines have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to warn against travel, flights to Florida remain popular, Laurence said. Network-wide, JetBlue’s capacity is down about 50%, and its fourth quarter 2020 revenue declined 67% compared to the same quarter in 2019.
Yet, the airline is expanding its Florida offerings.
“Florida in general has fared far better in terms of demand and the amount of service we‘ve been able to restore,” he said. “Florida is very much a bright spot.”
International air traffic to Florida and elsewhere has been especially tenuous since the CDC began requiring proof of negative COVID-19 tests before boarding for inbound travelers. In the 13 days since the CDC’s testing requirement took effect for international travelers on Jan. 26, MIA has seen an average of around 71 passengers per international arrival flight, compared to 111 passengers per flight in the 13 days prior, according to airport statistics.
For JetBlue’s international flights to other airports, Laurence said the company has seen Caribbean and Latin American destinations increasing testing capacity to allow for travel.
“We continue to work through that and make sure that our customers are aware of the restrictions before they get on a flight back to the U.S.,” he said. “As we look forward, we’re seeing a number of our partners adapt to this. It’s a big lift for many of them.”
In addition to the Miami flights, JetBlue began flights to JFK and Boston from Key West International Airport Thursday, which will run through April.
JetBlue is the third low-cost carrier to recently launch from or expand at MIA, following Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines last year.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 4:42 PM.
