JetBlue Airways announced they will begin offering nonstop flights between New York – John F Kennedy International Airport and Manchester – Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire.
This new route pairing will go live on June 12, 2025. There will be two daily flights, every day of the week. Flight #971 will be the New York bound flight which will depart Manchester at 7:00am. The Manchester bound flight will be JetBlue Flight #972. It will leave JFK Airport at 9:59 in the morning.
This route pairing is scheduled to run between June 12th, 2025 and October 25th, 2025.
Dave Jehn, Vice President of Network Planning and Airline Partnerships for JetBlue commented “With this new route, we’re making it easier than ever for travelers in New Hampshire and greater New England to get to the Big Apple and beyond.Whether it’s a quick getaway to New York City or a seamless connection for a sun-soaked trip to the Caribbean, this service provides customers with a convenient and comfortable travel experience from their home airport.”
This news comes with JetBlue’s shift of focus back to its Northeast U.S network. They recently announced even more service between the New York Metro area and Boston-New England Area with the inclusion of the Long Island – Boston route pairing slated to go live in April.
What Does This Mean For JetBlue and its Customers?
Manchester Will Function as a Reliever Type Airport for the Added Service Between Boston and NYC
With JetBlue really taking ownership and beefing up its service in the Northeast, it makes sense that the airline is now beginning to solidify its reliever type airports for the expected added demand. Just like how JetBlue expanded to Long Island MacArthur, a very similar situation is playing out for Boston.
Boston, like New York-JFK, is a hub airport for JetBlue. Both of these cities come with plenty of customer demand. Long Island MacArthur is only a 35 minute car ride away from JFK. Manchester, New Hampshire is only a 52 minute car ride from Boston.
There is a demographic of people who want service, but want to avoid all the headaches of commuting into their local cities and deal with the hassle of navigating large airports. JetBlue is hitting the nail on the head by opening up its service to these regional type airports.
This Move Will Benefit JetBlue’s Leisurely Routes from JFK Airport and Travel Between Boston and NYC
As Dave Jehn stated, one of the goals of JetBlue with the Manchester route addition is to get New England travelers down to New York City to take advantage of all the Caribbean flights flown out of JFK Airport. Although many flights from Boston go to the Caribbean, New York – JFK has slightly more destinations in the region.
Another reason is to improve access to New York City for folks living in New Hampshire and Greater New England. Just like how the Long Island – Boston route will help people from Long Island get up to Boston without sitting in traffic. The same goes for these New Englanders getting to New York City.
Unfortunately, the stretch of roadways between New York City, Boston, and perhaps New England as a whole is very annoying due to traffic. Trips that realistically take three to four hours can stretch to almost six because of the traffic. JetBlue is trying to solve this problem by increasing the amount of service between these two cities.
Flights between Boston and NYC take no more than an hour. An hour flight, maybe one or two hours getting through security means 3 hours of hassle free travel. A win – win – win for New Englanders as well as New Yorkers, and JetBlue.
Sources
https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/jetblue-launches-first-nonstop-manchester-nyc-flights
