In the wake of Spirit Airlines’ sudden collapse last month, JetBlue – another airline known for reasonable prices – stepped in to help stranded customers. Could this budget friendly airline be in trouble itself?
While the New York Post described Queens-based JetBlue as “struggling” following news that it would pull back on certain services in the New York area, the airline is also adding new services in Florida. In May, The New York Times also said the 28-year-old airline was “struggling” and was aiming to make Spirit’s demise an opportunity for success.
JetBlue previously tried to acquire Spirit for $3.8 billion in 2024, but announced that May that it had abandoned that plan after the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts blocked the transaction. Merrick Garland, the attorney general at the time, hailed the ruling as a victory for American consumers.
“The Justice Department proved in court that a merger between JetBlue and Spirit would have caused tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer choices,” Garland said.
Current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a different view. He said in an X post shortly after Spirit’s May 2 collapse that “had Spirit Airlines been allowed to merge with Jet Blue, it would have given them much more resiliency.”
Around that time, JetBlue announced that it would expand its services in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 11 new destinations and a “Spirit Status Match” offer. Since then, it’s also announced plans to add a service branch from Fort Lauderdale to Caracas, Venezuela. This Wednesday, JetBlue also announced further expansion with its premium Mint experience in Fort Lauderdale.
“JetBlue has continued to invest in Fort Lauderdale as a key focus city and major gateway across Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean,” said a press release from JetBlue. “The airline has increased its daily departures from the city by more than 75% this year and expects to reach approximately 150 daily flights from Fort Lauderdale by this winter, its largest schedule ever from the airport. With new service to San Diego, JetBlue will offer the only business class option between Fort Lauderdale and San Diego, giving customers a more comfortable and premium way to travel.
Even as it expands in Florida, JetBlue still calls itself “New York's Hometown Airline” and CNBC said this week that New York is its largest hub. Its plans to expand in Fort Lauderdale would put its services there “on par with JetBlue’s Boston Logan International Airport hub, its largest after New York,” the outlet said.
Along with the plans to expand in Florida, JetBlue is also cutting seasonal service between Newark, N.J., and Los Angeles, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev., NJ.com reported. It said JetBlue’s Inflight base at Newark and Tech Ops bases at Newark and LaGuardia in Queens will close this fall, citing officials.
“Crew members will be able to bid or transfer to other bases. No crew members will lose their jobs due to these closures, officials said,” NJ.com added. In April a total of 1,149 JetBlue flights used Newark Airport and 771 flew to and from LaGuardia, according to Port Authority data cited by the outlet.
According to the Post, JetBlue said it still plans to fly to these hubs, but that its flight attendant base at Newark and its technical operations bases there and at LaGuardia will close this fall. This will allow the airline to cut costs and support growth in Fort Lauderdale, Jet Blue said in a statement provided to the outlet.
The Post also noted that JetBlue has worked to trim underperforming routes for years to find consistent profitability. Furthermore, it said the airline has a “growing frustration with the cost of operating in the New York region,” and at LaGuardia in particular following a multibillion-dollar redevelopment of the airport.
“Earlier this month, JetBlue said former Spirit markets ‘have demonstrated outperformance’ and noted strong demand trends across its network,” Aviation Week reported. “The airline now expects second-quarter revenue per available seat mile to increase 9%-12% year-on-year, versus prior expectations of a 7-11% increase, on a 2-4% lift in capacity.”
