JetBlue Blog

We’re excited to announce new daily nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) in Lima, subject to receipt of government operating authority. Lima will be our 81^st BlueCity and our fourth destination in South America. Sale fares for U.S.-originating flights to Lima are available today and until May 3, 2013, at www.jetblue.com/new for as low as $139 one-way from Fort Lauderdale and $199 one-way from the New York Metros and Boston, for travel between November 21 and December 19, 2013

Image courtesy of James Preston on Flickr

Our schedule between Fort Lauderdale and Lima:

In addition to our nonstop service to South Florida, Lima customers will be able to conveniently connect onwards from Fort Lauderdale to other destinations in the United States and the Caribbean including: Austin, Texas; Boston, MA; Hartford, CT; New York (JFK and LaGuardia); Newark, NJ; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Washington, DC (Reagan National).

Destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean now make up almost one-third of our route network. In South America, we also offers nonstop service between Bogotá and both Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, as well as nonstop service between Cartagena, Colombia and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). We also announced nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale and Medellín, Colombia, set to begin in June 2013.

Book your flight to Lima today! 

Today we reported our results for the first quarter 2013:

• Operating income for the quarter was $59 million, resulting in a 4.5% operating margin, compared to operating income of$89 million and a 7.4% operating margin in the first quarter of 2012.
• Pre-tax income of $23 million in the first quarter.  This compares to pre-tax income of $49 million in the first quarter of 2012.
• Net income for the first quarter was $14 million, or $0.05 per diluted share.  This compares to our first quarter 2012 net income of $30 million, or $0.09 per diluted share.

Read the full press release and tune in at 9:30 a.m. ET to hear the earnings call.

On Monday we celebrated our inaugural flight from New York to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dave, our CEO, and other JetBlue leaders joined Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry for the festivities. Our flight is the only nonstop service connecting the two cities. As our 77th BlueCity, ABQ launched service with Even More Speed options for customers, bringing the full JetBlue experience to a new state on day one. Welcome to the network, ABQ!

We are deeply frustrated by the negative impact government staffing reductions are having on the national air transportation system, and the inconvenience it’s causing our customers and crewmembers.

Customers should plan for possible flight delays and cancellations at most airports across the country. While delays related to the furloughs are possible throughout our network, the most significant impact is expected to be concentrated in the following cities:

• New York – JFK
• New York – LaGuardia
• Newark
• Fort Lauderdale
• Chicago O’Hare
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco

As always, our primary focus is running a safe and efficient operation and we will continue to do everything possible to mitigate delays throughout our network for our customers. While our teams are working hard to get customers where they need to be on time, delays can be compounded by a variety of complications. When multiple flights are delayed, the situation can quickly compound and put our crews or planes “out of position”—meaning they’re stuck in airports away from their next scheduled trip. At the same time, the delays can cause our crews to “time out” of their federally regulated duty times while waiting for clearance to depart. Finally, when flights run late into the evening, there are times when agencies like the TSA or CBP teams are not available.

Under normal circumstances, we plan ahead for delays and cancellations, but due to the dynamic nature of the sequestration and its impact on the industry, our crewmembers are finding out about operational impact with little advance notice. We apologize for the inconvenience this may add to your travel plans.

If you are planning on traveling, here are a few things you can do to minimize uncertainty:

• Check the status of your flight regularly and again prior to leaving for the airport (online, via mobile device or by calling 1-800-JETBLUE).
• Sign up for SMS and/or voice flight status notifications via your mobile device or our iPhone/Android apps
• Estimated departure times are not definite and are subject to change at any time, but we recommend that you arrive at the airport prior to their NEW estimated departure time as follows:
  • Domestic flights: at least 90 minutes prior to departure
  • International flights: at least 2 hours prior to departure

Please join us in communicating your frustration to officials in Washington, both your elected officials in Congress and at the FAA, asking for their assistance in resolving these unnecessary issues. Here are some ways you can get involved:

• Reach out to the White House, the Department of Transportation, the FAA and Congress at: www.dontgroundamerica.org
  • Feel free to use this text:
  • I oppose FAA-imposed flight delays because it’s an unnecessary and reckless action that will disrupt the air travel for millions of Americans, cost jobs and badly damage our already fragile economy.
• Share this post on your favorite social network.

We’re grateful for your continued patience as we all work through this situation together. We’ll continue to keep you informed as we address this ongoing operational impact.

Next stop, New Mexico! We’re excited to launch our 77th BlueCity today, with New York’s only nonstop service to the vibrant city of Albuquerque. Dave, our President and CEO, was joined today by Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry during the inaugural flight’s departure ceremony at Kennedy International Airport.

Albuquerque is our first destination in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, and is the 77^th destination served in our growing route network. To celebrate, today through Wednesday, April 24, 2013 customers can book flights between New York and Albuquerque for as low as $99 one way at www.jetblue.com/new. The special fares are available for travel between May 29 and June 26, 2013.

Our schedule between New York and Albuquerque:

If you’ve been watching the news lately, you’ve probably heard the word “sequestration” quite a bit. The FAA has cut staffing at Air Traffic Control facilities as a result of the government budget sequester, and the first round of these cuts went into effect on Sunday. With fewer employees to manage traffic in and around airports, delays are possible, even on perfectly sunny, blue sky days.

We regret any inconvenience as a result of sequestration. As always, our focus will be on running as safe and efficient an operation as possible for our customers.  We recommend checking the status of your JetBlue flights at jetblue.com.

We’ll continue to keep you informed as we address this ongoing operational impact. Stay tuned!

We organized a special charter for the SUN ‘n FUN International Fly-in & Expo in Lakeland, Florida last week. We welcomed onboard students from schools with a strong focus on STEM education programs. A group of crewmembers also joined us, and enjoyed sharing the day with aviation enthusiasts from across the country.

Media coverage of JetBlue at SUN ‘N FUN

Check out the below images snapped by our Pilot Tim.

We’re pleased to report our operations at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) are flowing smoothly. However, we understand many customers’ plans were disrupted yesterday, and our fee waiver remains in place for those traveling to/from BOS Saturday, April 20, 2013.

Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Tuesday, April 23, 2013 without fee or difference in airfare. Customers may also elect to change their arrival or departure city from Boston to the following cities:
-Hartford, CT (BDL)
-New York Metros
-New York (JFK)
-New York (LGA)
-Newark, NJ (EWR)
-Newburgh, NY (SWF)
-Westchester County, NY (HPN)
-Providence, RI (PVD)

Rebooking Terms & Conditions

To make changes customers can call 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) prior to the departure time of their originally scheduled flight. Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583). Original travel must have been booked on or before Thursday, April 18, 2013.

Stanford Business Professor and our Board Chairman Joel Peterson sounds off on some meaningful advice about “striving to balance professional success and personal fulfillment,” in his new series on LinkedIn. Our internal culture and leadership style is integral to the service that we deliver, and it helps that our Chairman is something of an expert on this too.

Read Joel’s article and click “follow” on LinkedIn to read upcoming editions.

Update 5 p.m.

Flights remain on or close to schedule at Boston’s Logan. We’ve further extended our fee waivers for customers to rebook their flights for travel through Tuesday, April 23, 2013 without fee or difference in airfare. Please call 1-800-JETBLUE for further assistance.

Update 11 a.m.

We’ve extended our fee waivers for customers to rebook their flights for travel through Monday, April 22, 2013 without fee or difference in airfare. Customers may also elect to change their arrival or departure city from Boston to the following cities:

• -Hartford, CT (BDL)
  • -New York Metros
  • -New York (JFK)
  • -New York (LGA)
  • -Newark, NJ (EWR)
  • -Newburgh, NY (SWF)
  • -Westchester County, NY (HPN)
• -Providence, RI (PVD)

Please reach out to our customer support team at 1-800-JETBLUE if you wish to change your flight. All customers traveling to/from BOS are encouraged to check the status of their flight online prior to leaving for the airport.

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At this time, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) remains open for operations. We currently have a fee waiver in place for customers traveling to/from BOS Friday, April 19, 2013.

Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Monday, April 22, 2013 without fee or difference in airfare. To make changes customers can call 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) prior to the departure time of their originally scheduled flight. Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583). Original travel must have been booked on or before Thursday, April 18, 2013.

All customers traveling to/from BOS are encouraged to check the status of their flight online prior to leaving for the airport. Customers with web-enabled cell phones and PDAs may check the status of their flight at mobile.jetblue.com.