JetBlue to chop some routes after decide bars Spirit…

JetBlue Airways informed workers this week that it’ll lower some routes and repair because it struggles to return to profitability and grapples with the fallout of its blocked plan to purchase Spirit Airlines.

JetBlue stated it’ll cease flying from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Portland, Oregon, and to San Jose, California, and from Westchester, New York, and Martha’s Winery, based on an inner memo, which was reviewed by CNBC. The airline may also droop service from New York to Ponce, Puerto Rico, and to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in October.

“We can’t fly everywhere we’d like, so we need to be highly selective about where we point our aircraft in order to turn a profit, support our overall network strategy, and offer a reliable operation,” wrote Dave Jehn, vp of community planning and airline partnerships, in a notice to workers.

The airline is as an alternative specializing in leisure routes, including service all through the Caribbean and to Paris, the memo stated.

JetBlue can be exiting Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport, Jehn stated. He added that the service will “provide a number of options moving forward” to workers there. The airline stated it could nonetheless serve the realm with service from Washington D.C.

Jehn stated the adjustments had been within the works for nearly a month, earlier than the courtroom determination that blocked JetBlue’s deliberate $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit on antitrust grounds. Decide William Younger’s opinion solely blocks the merger that the businesses agreed to in July 2022, not a unique proposed mixture, ought to the airways take that route.

JetBlue stated in an announcement that the adjustments had been in “no way” associated to the decide’s determination.

“We constantly adjust our network to support our strategy and these recent changes are a necessary quick step to help return our business to profitability,” JetBlue stated. “All the routes included have recently underperformed our expectations and these changes come as post-COVID travel patterns continue to evolve.”

JetBlue additionally stated it is making an attempt to enhance its reliability.

“By removing some of our less in-demand flights, we will give our operation more breathing room as we plan for air traffic control challenges in the northeast,” the corporate stated. 

JetBlue ranked ninth in on-time arrivals amongst U.S. airways within the first 10 months of 2023, based on the Transportation Division.

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