Airline Profile: JetBlue

A major US low cost carrier based at New York's J.F. Kennedy International Airport, JetBlue Airways offers low fare services to over 50 cities across the US, and international services to over 20 destinations in Aruba, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Netherlands Antilles and Puerto Rico.

History

Founded as New Air by CEO David Neeleman in September 1999, the start-up carrier was awarded 75 initial take-off/landing slots at New York/JFK. The JetBlue brand was adopted before operations commenced. On 3 February 2000 the airline was awarded its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity by the US Department Of Transport.

Services were launched later that month, on the first of its two routes, with a flight between JFK and Fort Lauderdale. The second route, from JFK to Buffalo was inaugurated six days later.

The route network subsequently expanded steadily and the first transcontinental services, to Ontario, California were introduced in July 2000.

JetBlue announced its initial public offering (IPO) on 11 April 2002 and on 27 September 2002 the airline acquired LiveTV, LLC, provider of its in flight satellite TV entertainment system.

JetBlue launched services from a second major base at Boston's Logan International Airport in January 2004 and its first international service, from JFK to Santiago in the Dominican Republic was launched on 10 June 2004.

In December 2007 Lufthansa agreed to purchase up to 19 per cent of the shares in JetBlue, likely to cost around US$300 million (Euros 206 million).

Fleet

• 108x Airbus A320 Family
• 36x Embraer E190

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