Did you know that you can fly between the United States and Europe on board JetBlue Airways?
You can! The airline announced its intention to start transatlantic service in 2019. It’s been a few years since the first routes to London have been rolled out and you’re probably considering whether you would use JetBlue to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
In this article, we will discuss how JetBlue Airways began offering flights to and from Europe, as well as the European destinations they are currently flying and the aircraft they use on these routes.
When Did JetBlue Airways Announce Flights to Europe?
In April 2019, JetBlue Airways announced that the airline was looking to get into the transatlantic flight market to Europe. They revealed that they plan on flying routes to London from their hubs in Boston and New York.
With the announcement, they said they will upgrade some of the Airbus Airbus A321s CEO (classic engine options) to Airbus A321LRs with an extended flight range to make these routes possible. With the aircraft upgrade, they’ll enhance their premium seating option, called JetBlue Mint, by adding more of these seat types.
During this initial announcement, the airline said the tentative date for flights to begin to London would be April 2021.
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Inaugural Flight Delays and More Announcements
As the April 2021 dates neared closer, JetBlue announced that there were going to be slight delays in the initial flight to London from New York.
Instead of the first flight being in April, they announced the first flights to London-Healthtrow and London-Gatwick would happen in August and September of that year.
They also told the world that the first flights to London from Boston would occur in 2022.
JetBlue also announced the arrival of flights to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Paris, France from New York.
More recently, in October of 2023, the airline also let everyone know they were rolling out flights to Edinburgh, Scotland, and Dublin, Ireland from New York and Boston sometime in 2024.
Why Did JetBlue Airways Tap Into The Transatlantic Flight Market?
JetBlue decided to enter itself in the running in the nonstop transatlantic flight market between Europe and the United States because it saw an excellent opportunity.
They identified that flights over the pond remain priced the same all year long on main airlines like Delta Airlines, United Airlines, British Airways, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and more.
There is always a demand for flights between the two continents because these routes are not oversaturated by American air carriers. However, they cannot raise prices because tickets need to be affordable enough for the route to be revenue-generating.
JetBlue Airways already a low-cost airline in the United States, floated the idea of operating transatlantic routes but charging passengers at even a lower price than what the other major airlines are charging, something that was always in JetBlue’s playbook.
This would give passengers a lower-cost option on the market to fly with.
Routes That JetBlue Currently Flying to Europe
As of November 2023, JetBlue is currently operating 3 routes from the United States to Europe. They have announced an additional 2 routes to Europe that will begin in 2024.
New York – JFK & Boston to London Gatwick, London-Heathrow
The flights to London were the first transatlantic routes that JetBlue Airways announced they would be offering in 2021. The airline decided to roll out the flight from New York first, followed by service from Boston beginning in 2022.
The New York to London Heathrow route is offered two times per day, usually an early morning flight and one red-eye flight departing towards the night time. The flight to London-Gatwick from New York is flown less frequently, only once a day.
Between Boston – London-Healthtrow & Boston – London Gatwick, both of these flights are flown less than their New York counterparts. Each route is getting about one flight per day in each direction. The airline has also announced in late 2023 that service to London Gatwick will be suspended to start 2024 as the airline makes room for some of its other transatlantic flight options coming into the fold.
There is a lot of competition on this particular route for JetBlue. There are many options for passengers to fly on and perhaps more comfortably than what they may experience on JetBlue.
The majority of these airlines are using widebody aircraft that can accommodate more people better versus JetBlue using a narrowbody where conditions might be more cramped.
In May 2024, JetBlue announced it would scale back some of its transatlantic service to London Gatwick. This route will only be offered during the summer months.
New York – JFK & Boston to Paris
The next announced series of of transatlantic flights by JetBlue was a round of flights from New York- JFK Airport & Boston Logan International Airport to Paris France’s Charles De Gaulle International Airport.
These series of flights were revealed by the airline in 2022, with service beginning from New York in 2023 and Boston starting up right after. A second Paris flight will be added to the schedule in June 2024.
As of November 2023, JetBlue is only operating the route between New York and Paris one day a week in both directions. The flight takes roughly 7 hours to complete.
As of now, the airline has provided a timeline for service between Boston and Paris to begin in April 2024.
New York – JFK & Boston to Amsterdam
The next round of flights announced by JetBlue was service to Amsterdam in the Hollands from New York & Boston.
The flights to/from Amsterdam will utilize the Amerstdam Airport Schipol and are offered once per day in both directions.
The flights between Amsterdam and the east coast of the United States take between 6 to 8 hours depending on the winds and the direction you are coming from.
JetBlue was pretty excited over the launch of this route. They identified a lack of competition for this particular flight among U.S. air carriers.
The only American airlines flying this nonstop route are Delta and American Airlines. Internationally, KLM, Air France, and Norse Atlantic Airways are flying nonstop flights between the United States and Amsterdam.
Some Headwinds Faced By JetBlue on the Amsterdam Route
However, with all the excitement there have been some difficulties faced by JetBlue on this route.
Amsterdam Airport Schipol uses an airport slotting system meaning that airlines have to purchase a slot to operate a flight into that airport (very similar to LaGuardia’s landing slot system). The slotting system helps alleviate some of the traffic congested as Amsterdam Airport Schipol is one of the world’s busiest airports.
There was an effort by the Dutch government to reduce the cap on available airport slots affecting JetBlue Airways flights beginning in 2024. The cap reduction would have eliminated JetBlue’s ability to even operate a flight into the airport.
However, through pressure from the United States government, the Dutch decided to move against putting in the airport slot cap, leaving JetBlue and many other airlines unaffected and able to resume their operations.
New York – JFK & Boston to Dublin
In October 2023, JetBlue Airways announced they were expanding their transatlantic route network to Dublin, Ireland from its bases in New York and Boston. This flight will be performed on a seasonal basis.
They slated March 24, 2024, as the start date for both of these flights.
Navigating JetBlue’s & Aer Lingus’s Code Share Agreement
This is an interesting flight choice by JetBlue Airways considering that they have a major codeshare agreement with Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus is Ireland’s national flag carrier airline. It can be expected in the interim that the codeshare agreement will still operate in good faith. However, if JetBlue decides to expand its daily service to Dublin, some issues may arise.
The deal being the JetBlue-Aer Lingus codeshare is to create a seamless passenger experience for both airlines’ passengers visiting each respective country. For example, passengers flying from Ireland on board Aer Lingus could easily connect with a JetBlue Airways flight across the United States.
With the codeshare in place, what would be the incentive for passengers using JetBlue Airways to fly between Ireland and the United States? Aer Lingus uses an Airbus A330 better suited for longer-ranged travel. Besides cost savings and the potential rise in service for premium class for JetBlue travelers, it is yet to be seen the impact this codeshare agreement has for both airlines.
New York – JFK & Boston to Edinburgh
JetBlue also announced seasonal service from New York-JFK to Edinburgh, Scotland starting on May 2024.
They haven’t publicly announced if this trip will be carried over to Boston but for now, it’s only between New York and Edinburgh.
There is a lot of opportunity with this route. The only airline providing nonstop service between these locations is Delta Airlines.
JetBlue can insert itself and prove to be a worthy competitor in acquiring the market share of demand for flights to Scotland.
Airbus A321LR – The Aircraft JetBlue Uses to Fly to Europe
JetBlue Airways uses an Airbus A321 LR on its flights across the Atlantic Ocean. The Airbus A321LR has the passenger capacity to fit 138 people in its cabin and travel 4600 miles without refueling.
JetBlue’s A321s have unique seating amenities not found on its other Airbus A321s used on domestic routes:
- 24 Mint Suite Seats: lie-flat seats in your own “cubicle” with a 17-inch TV.
- 24 2 Mint Studio Seats – same as above but with a 22-inch TV and more storage space.
- 24 “Even More Space Seats” – an upgraded economy experience with 5 more inches of legroom.
Outside of some of the seating arrangements, the experience on board JetBlue’s Airbus A321LR transatlantic service isn’t much different than what you would get on a normal domestic flight across the United States.
The airline still offers free wifi and has the top flight entertainment options including movies, live TV, and satellite radio.
Reviews of JetBlue’s Nonstop flights to Europe
The overall narrative about JetBlue’s first stab at flying transatlantic has been fairly positive. However, there have been some common patterns amongst travelers and their reviews on the internet.
Overall Vibe – Pleasantly Surprised
Many travelers initially worried about being comfortable on a narrowbody aircraft for a prolonged length of time. Which is valid. The normal has always been to fly on widebody aircraft on transatlantic routes. However, customers seem to be happy with how comfortable JetBlue was on their transatlantic flights.
Is Business Travel the Best Use Case for JetBlue Europe Service?
That all comes down to preference. However, the value of JetBlue’s Mint product comes if you can afford it. With that said, maybe if you are flying business to Europe or vice versa, JetBlue’s mint product might be a better option for you because it’s either in line or slightly cheaper for the same elevated service on other airlines in the transatlantic market.
Families Might Struggle in JetBlue’s Transatlantic Economy Class
It is a coin flip to decide whether Economy or JetBlue’s Even More Space product offering is right for you. People traveling with young families might struggle with JetBlue because of the lack of room over a 6 to 7-hour flight. But if you’re conditioned to flying and can accept sacrificing small comforts for cost savings, JetBlue economy can be the right answer for you.
What The Customers Are Saying
Flew from JFK to London and it was FANTASTIC! Excellent food and free alcoholic drinks to “kick off” the new European service. What a pleasure!
Reddit Commenter
In the future, when flying for personal travel, it’s unlikely I’d be able to afford to fly Mint to Europe. However, I would easily spend the money to fly in JetBlue’s “Even More Space” economy plus or even its “core” economy seats to Paris again—especially if the fares remain competitive—since I found the food just as good, the seats more comfortable, and the service even friendlier than the other major airlines.
Afar Magazine
If the price point works with your budget, I would definitely recommend flying Mint—especially for a red-eye flight. If you’re looking to travel to Europe for less, JetBlue’s core offering is, in my opinion, the best economy offering on the market right now. I enjoyed the extra legroom in the Even More Space seat, but having also flown JetBlue in a standard core seat before, I think you would still be comfortable if you decide not to upgrade.
House Beautiful
Although JetBlue could be termed as low cost, the product was mostly anything but. The JetBlue Mint Studio was huge, with plenty of storage and the most comfortable business class seat I have flown in, especially for sleeping. The service was extremely attentive as well as friendly, and fun. All the food and drink was tasty, although if you are a wine lover you won’t find any champagne or fine wines here.
Turn Left for Less
Sources
https://www.wcvb.com/article/jetblue-boston-london-gatwick-flights-suspended-fall-winter/44175784
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/25/jetblue-to-offer-dublin-edinburgh-flights-starting-next-year.html
