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Low-cost carrier to fly to Fla. and San Juan
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
RON MARSICO AND SUSAN TODD
Star-Ledger Staff
JetBlue Airways, the popular low-cost carrier that has given the major U.S. airlines fits, will begin operations at Newark Liberty International Airport this fall with flights to five Florida cities and Puerto Rico, airline officials said yesterday.
Beginning Oct. 5, JetBlue will introduce up to 15 daily non-stop flights from Newark Airport's Terminal A to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers. Once-a-day service to San Juan is scheduled to begin Nov. 17.
"That's a pretty full schedule for any airline," said Dave Barger, JetBlue's president and chief operating officer. "It's a nice way to tap into that whole market over in Newark."
Yesterday's announcement is the result of ongoing discussions to bring JetBlue to Newark that have intensified over the past year between the carrier and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the three major regional airports.
For many New Jerseyans, the news means they will no longer have to travel across the Hudson River to John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports to take advantage of JetBlue's low fares. Approximately 6 percent of the passengers on JetBlue's 102-flight-a-day schedule at JFK are from New Jersey, according to the airline.
JetBlue says it will launch its Newark service by offering certain one-way fares starting at $69 to Florida and $99 to San Juan for tickets purchased by July 26 with travel through Dec. 14. After that, regular one-way fares will range from $89 to $259 to Florida and $124 to $299 to San Juan.
All six destinations will be served by Airbus A320 jets, which seat 156 passengers.
"This is great news for the residents of New Jersey, Newark Airport and the surrounding metropolitan region," acting Gov. Richard Codey said in a statement. "JetBlue's new service announcement means more travel options for the public and more financial opportunities for the entire region."
For Continental Airlines, the largest carrier at Newark Airport, the announcement means increased competition from one of the few profitable carriers in the industry. JetBlue, which bills itself as the metropolitan area's largest domestic airline, will be using two gates at the Newark Airport, which has major space constraints.
Continental already offers service to the five Florida cities and San Juan.
"This is not about Continental. This is a natural extension of JetBlue across the Hudson River," Barger said while acknowledging the industry's competitiveness. "I think carriers are always looking at the landscape of what competitors are doing -- especially competitors that have been profitable. We do the same thing."
Barger, however, said JetBlue is committed to its hub at JFK and noted that growth opportunities at Newark Airport are limited.
"We'll see how the initial start-up goes and take it from there," he said.
Continental officials declined to comment.
Michael Boyd, a Colorado-based airline industry consultant, predicted that JetBlue's impact on Continental's business, at least initially, would be minimal. Continental, based in Houston, handles roughly 68 percent of the daily departures from Newark.
"Continental is a tough competitor," Boyd said. "JetBlue is just another competitor that it will do well against."
JetBlue Airways, based in Forest Hills, N.Y., has played a major role in changing the U.S. airline business.
In the past year, as major airlines have teetered toward bankruptcy, JetBlue has wooed increasingly more customers, some of them willing to drive miles out of their way in exchange for comforts like television screens at every seat, leather seats, free snacks -- and lower fares.
Ray Neidle, an airline analyst with Calyon Securities, said JetBlue relishes large airports in over-priced, under-served markets. In the past few years, that strategy has pushed the feisty airline into LaGuardia and Boston's Logan International Airport.
"They're not afraid to compete with anybody -- except Southwest," Neidle said, referring to the Dallas-based low-fare airline.
In 2004, while other airlines struggled to make money, JetBlue reported a profit of $103.9 million. The same year, the company's load factor -- the percentage of seating capacity actually used on a plane -- hit 83.2 percent, higher than any other major airline.
JetBlue touts its own seven-year history, which took it from a start-up to a major airline, as one of the fastest ascents in aviation history.
For the Port Authority, JetBlue's announcement helps strengthen the agency's efforts to meet the region's growing needs for airline capacity and increase its own revenues while offering customers options.
"Low-cost carriers in this day's market can really drive the success of an airport," Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia said. "We're very happy that JetBlue decided to offer service out of Newark Liberty."
