From Lisbon to Dublin: JetBlue's A321s on the assault of flights between the U.S. and Europe
After London and Paris has come Amsterdam. And in 2024 it will be Dublin, Edinburgh, and perhaps Lisbon's turn. The airline [...]
JetBlue
After London and Paris Amsterdam has arrived. And in 2024 it will be the turn of Dublin, Edinburgh and possibly Lisbon. U.S. airline JetBlue is no longer standing still and has decided to focus heavily on transatlantic flights between the U.S. and Europe.
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The mix of competitive fares and quality in-flight service-with flights operated via aircraft at single aisle A321LR - begins to be a major competitor to traditional carriers (the three U.S. sisters Delta-United-American and the large European groups Air France-Klm; Lufthansa and Iag) on the busiest and most profitable routes.
The Amsterdam case
All the JetBlue flights connect Boston and New York JFK With European capitals. And in 2024, traffic will increase significantly. After the announced stop flights over Amsterdam, in fact, JetBlue was quick to ask for the Slots to take off and land at Lisbon airport..
In the meantime, however, the Netherlands has made BACKGROUND ON THE ROOF to flights by 2024-a move that reopened the door to the U.S. carrier's operations at Schiphol.
Now it's up to JetBlue to decide whether to also launch in the future. Lisbon, although the company's plans are precisely to increase its presence on intercontinental routes.
The choice of Lisbon
At this point the U.S. company would, therefore, open a front in southern Europe as well, directly challenging Tap Air Portugal's monopoly for flights from Lisbon to the States. Until a few years ago, JetBlue had a codeshare partnership with Tap right on transatlantic flights and the U.S. carrier's subsequent connections in the Americas.
Although the partnership no longer exists, in 2017, as many as the 17% of passenger traffic Tap's overall transatlantic came right from JetBlue's power supply.
While demand patterns change greatly over time, in flights between the U.S. and Europe, demand seems to grow unabated year after year.
If JetBlue launches Lisbon - rumors speak of a Daily flight in both directions - we will see a real struggle between the American and Portuguese carriers all based on single-aisle aircraft.
It should be considered, moreover, that the former makes it possible to accumulate Avios points (referring to Iberia, British and Qatar Airways) while the second is part of Star Alliance (referring to Lufthansa, United, Turkish and their loyalty programs).
The challenge promises to be interesting for both aggressive fares and frequent flyers and serial point accumulators.
Routes over Dublin and Edinburgh
What is certain, however, is that JetBlue will fly to Dublin and Edinburgh in 2024. The airline will begin service seasonal daily in Dublin from New York JFK and Boston Logan on March 13, 2024 until September 30, 2024. JetBlue will also begin daily seasonal service New York-JFK to Edinburgh, on May 22.
Tickets are on sale for both routes, with round-trip fares starting at $399 to Dublin and $599 to Edinburgh in the Core cabin. The Mint cabin - comparable to Business - starts at $1,999 for Dublin and $2,499 for Edinburgh.
"Our summer seasonal service to Dublin and Edinburgh will bring a new level of service and affordable fares to these markets that have been dominated by high-fare legacy carriers for decades," said JetBlue's chief operating officer, Robin Hayes - We look forward to introducing the JetBlue experience to business and leisure customers traveling to and from Ireland and Scotland this summer."
The connections to Dublin and Edinburgh then will be the fifth and sixth transatlantic routes, as the company now serves London-both Heathrow and Gatwick-Paris and Amsterdam.
Meanwhile, JetBlue also announced an ahe increase in frequencies over Paris starting next April 3, 2024, ahead of the upcoming Summer Olympics. In fact, the airline will open the route from Boston to Paris Charles de Gaulle and also add an extra flight from New York-Jfk to Paris starting June 20.
The JetBlue model
JetBlue is one of the few companies that uses the A321lr for intercontinental connections, But year after year this number is bound to increase and Crossing the Atlantic on a single-aisle plane will no longer be an exception.
Aboard the A321lr there are 138 seats. The first 12 rows house 24 mint class seats in 1-1 composition, which is Jetblue's business class, followed by 114 economy class seats in classic 3-3 composition.
