JetBlue Airways has finally announced its plans to begin services from New York’s JFK and Boston Logan to Amsterdam Schiphol.
This move comes very shortly after a Dutch Court ruled that the Dutch Government had failed to follow the law when it aimed to reduce the limit imposed on Amsterdam Schiphol’s annual traffic movements.
With this in mind, it has perhaps given JetBlue a sense of confidence that there is a secure space for the low-cost carrier in the market.
Flights are not on sale at the moment but the airline has advised that sales will begin the coming weeks.
In addition, flights are expected to begin from JFK to AMS “late this summer” as quoted by the airline in a statement. As for Boston, no expected date has been released yet.
As people can expect, flights will be operated by the airline’s 138 seat Airbus A321neo (LR) aircraft. The US airline currently operates 6 in its fleet.
Robin Hayes, the Chief Executive Officer for JetBlue said: “This route is long overdue for some competition”.
He added, “For too long the U.S. legacy carriers, backed by their joint ventures with other global airlines that enjoy immunity from antitrust laws, have locked customers in with very expensive fares and mediocre service.”
“Just like we’re doing in London and Paris, we will bring fares down and improve the experience for customers flying between the U.S and Amsterdam.”
Rapid expansion into Europe
Amsterdam will mark the third European destination for the carrier as it joins London (Heathrow & Gatwick) and Paris. London flights to JFK successfully launched in 2021 with Boston flights following a year later.
Paris is expected to receive New York JFK flights from June 29th of this year, with Boston flights expected later in the year.
With two brand new transatlantic routes going on sale by the airline since the start of 2023, it shows the airline is keen to grow its presence in Europe.
It also shows that we can expect further expansion over the course of this year, with the potential for a new route launching in Winter 2023 or plans for Summer 2024 being announced.
Amsterdam needs more competition
As Robin Hayes stated, Amsterdam needs more competition as far as transatlantic flights are concerned.
At present, only one LCC operates transatlantic flights from Amsterdam across the pond and that is WestJet, with its service to Calgary.
JetBlue’s entry to the airport will begin a steady balance for the market, especially considering they will be flying between two premium US destinations.
However, getting to this stage of announcing flights has proved a challenge, with the Dutch government constantly turning down JetBlue’s request for slots. The airline later officially disputed this service denial.
But now with the airline at a stage where it can successfully launch these flights, Robin Hayes is confident, the airline will see success in the market saying:
“Our formula of combining customer-centric experience and everyday low fares isn’t something you find everyday in Europe”.
He then added, “We’re confident that customers, Amsterdam airport officials, and the Dutch government will be delighted by JetBlue when they see first-hand the positive impact we can make and we look forward to working together with Dutch officials to ensure long term success in the market”.
Bottom Line
Overall it is great to see JetBlue finally launch its long awaited flights to Amsterdam.
Although it was a challenge, it shows the airline will not be backing down from any opportunity it has to increase its presence in Europe.
Now with three destinations noted, it seems only like a matter of time before we hear more from them.
