In the six months since JetBlue introduced its new flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) and Edinburgh Airport (EDI) in Scotland, the airline and broader journey industries have been rocked by sudden modifications and pressures. Demand has shifted amid fears of a recession, and the airline has doubled down on its push for effectivity in its community, going so far as to lower new routes earlier than they even launch.
Some speculated that JetBlue would pull again on its transatlantic ambitions after longtime CEO Robin Hayes retired in 2024, however the service’s management is adamant that the reverse is definitely the case.
“The Transatlantic part of our business is actually one of our best strengths at the moment,” JetBlue’s chief monetary officer Ursula Hurley advised TPG in Boston, simply earlier than the service launched its first-ever service to Spain and its first Scotland service from Boston.
“The European franchise is important,” Hurley added. “And we’re here to stay.”
Doubling down on transatlantic
Under CEO Joanna Geraghty, who assumed her publish in early 2024, JetBlue started a concerted effort to enhance its operational efficiency and rein in prices by way of a number of techniques.
That included realigning its community to give attention to its core Northeast and East Coast markets, slicing locations that had been underperforming and pulling again on some earlier expansions — together with quite a few short-haul routes from Los Angeles.
In tightening up its community, JetBlue additionally lower a few of its winter flying to Europe and redeployed the premium plane it makes use of on these routes, whereas pledging to be extra “opportunistic” when it comes to the European market.
But even these strikes did not imply abandoning transatlantic.
In reality, Hurley stated, the new Boston flights are examples of how that opportunistic growth aligns with the airline’s present targets: specializing in leisure journey out of the East Coast.
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“The European strategy is really about expanding customer options out of New York and Boston,” Hurley stated. “So Madrid, for example, is a place that customers want to go to from a leisure perspective, and so we’re just connecting the dots.”
Adding Madrid to its checklist of locations and launching service from Boston to Edinburgh — which comply with’s final yr’s begin of flights to Scotland from New York City — are the latest examples of how JetBlue intends to choose and select lengthy, skinny and profitable routes that attraction to leisure vacationers in the airline’s dwelling markets.
Edinburgh, specifically, is an effective case. Travel demand to Scotland has grown notably lately. In 2023, Edinburgh surpassed pre-pandemic ranges of tourists.
U.S. airways have steadily added nonstop service to match the demand, saving vacationers a cease in a European airline hub like London or Amsterdam. In 2025, passenger airways will function a complete of two,113 round-trip flights between the U.S. and Edinburgh, in accordance to knowledge from Cirium — up from 431 round-trips in 2012, when United launched service from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
In reality, JetBlue shouldn’t be the solely airline with an inaugural flight to the Scottish capital this week; American Airlines will launch its personal service from Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, utilizing a wide-body plane — a Boeing 787-8.
JetBlue, in the meantime, operates the route with its long-range Airbus A321LR. It’s a narrow-body that gives comparatively low working prices with a premium-heavy configuration that permits the airline to earn a strong revenue margin.
The jets are outfitted with 24 Mint enterprise class suites, 24 “EvenMore” extra-legroom seats and 90 “Core” economic system seats.
It’s a comparatively small aircraft in contrast to what the legacy airways supply on transatlantic service, however that is precisely why it really works for JetBlue. The airline can promote leisure locations in Europe with out having to fill a bigger wide-body jet, permitting it to benefit from current demand the place it finds a strategic alternative.
2 inaugural flights on 1 night time
With inaugural flights to Madrid and Edinburgh leaving Boston inside an hour of one another on Thursday, the airport’s Terminal C was a cacophony of castanets and bagpipes. Themed snacks at each gates supplied vacationers a preflight deal with, and some passengers famous with shock that they booked the flights for trip with no concept that there was something particular about them.
On board the flight to Edinburgh, JetBlue supplied its commonplace transatlantic product, which continues to shine as a robust competitor with a novel aptitude.
On board
Notable on the flight is the method JetBlue balances its top-tier smooth product, Mint, with the actuality of what folks on board in all probability need: sleep. Both of the new flights from Boston depart late in the night, with the flight to Edinburgh scheduled for 10:29 p.m.
The airline nonetheless provides full transatlantic Mint meal service, a top-tier meal catered in partnership with eating places from New York’s Delicious Hospitality Group.
But in acknowledgement of the late departure time, the airline provides a restricted choice with its “Savor and Sleep” idea — a single menu selection with a couple of dishes, served , slicing down on the time it will usually take flight attendants to combine and match numerous meal choices, plate every little thing, and serve programs.
While some might even see it as a cop-out to not supply a full menu, the actuality is that many individuals select to eat earlier than the flight on these quick transatlantic hops between the Northeast and Europe — see Delta’s argument for constructing a sit-down restaurant in its enterprise class lounges.
Everything was scrumptious, no matter the choice or the plating — or the proven fact that, owing to a Nor’easter and a good bit of turbulence that stored the flight attendants seated for the first hour, dinner was served after midnight on the inaugural.
After an abbreviated night time’s sleep, there was a breakfast providing of chia seed pudding, a biscuit, and a variety of coffees and teas. Not even six hours after departure, we had been on the floor in Edinburgh, the place this reporter deliberate to log out and get pleasure from a protracted trip together with his household (who tagged alongside on this inaugural thanks to a stash of TrueBlue factors in our household pool).
Some 24 minutes earlier, JetBlue flight 2261 had made its touchdown in Madrid, marking the airline’s first foray into Spain. It additionally marked the airline’s first transatlantic route to debut out of BOS quite than John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), the place its 5 earlier European locations launched from.
Hurley prompt that there isn’t any subtext to learn into with that transfer:
“Where we see the most immediate opportunity is out of Boston, just compared to the competition [to Madrid] that exists today,” she defined. “We’re pointing airplanes to the places where we think we can drive the most profitability.”
Looking forward
Are these new routes right here to keep?
Certainly, JetBlue’s latest community cuts present it is keen to make modifications if they do not carry out, as evidenced by the latest elimination of Boston service to Halifax, Nova Scotia, that might have launched subsequent month.
“With this leadership team, if things aren’t working, they’re going to get cut,” Hurley stated, noting it “speaks to the actioning that this leadership team is willing to do to get to profitability.”
But Hurley argued that the firm’s far-reaching “JetForward” plan to return JetBlue to profitability has the airline on the proper monitor.
That plan consists of new airport lounges at JFK and BOS, which will probably be accessible to transatlantic passengers flying in the service’s Mint cabin.
“All these changes are still maturing,” Hurley acknowledged. “But the headline is, we believe it’s the right strategy. We have the proof points to show that it’s working.”
How to ebook JetBlue with factors and miles
Travelers hoping to ebook JetBlue’s new flights to Europe with factors and miles have a couple of choices.
Beyond flying with JetBlue and incomes factors by spending on a cobranded bank card, you’ll be able to switch rewards from a number of main issuers to the TrueBlue program. Some good TrueBlue switch companions embody:
The info for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the card issuer.
Bottom line
JetBlue’s European enterprise was a very long time in the making when it lastly launched in 2021, nevertheless it’s one which the airline insists has been profitable and is right here to keep. And if this fully full Thursday night time flight to Edinburgh was any indication, JetBlue is aware of what it is doing on this entrance.
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