JetBlue this week launched eight new routes from its hub in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and said six more connections are in the works for later this year.
On Wednesday, the carrier added daily service between Fort Lauderdale and Cleveland, Ohio, followed by connections to Baltimore (three times daily), Charlotte, North Carolina (three times daily), Nashville, Tennessee (three times daily), Detroit (twice daily), Houston (three times daily), Chicago O’Hare (twice daily), and Ponce, Puerto Rico (daily), on Thursday. All eight of the routes were previously announced in May.
JetBlue officials have said they are building up Fort Lauderdale to capture market share once held by Spirit Airlines, which went out of business May 2. The carrier has also hired former Spirit employees in South Florida.
Another six routes from Fort Lauderdale will come online this fall; they are Indianapolis (Nov. 2), Columbus, Ohio (Nov. 2), San Diego (Nov. 19), Barranquilla (Oct. 1) and Cali (Oct. 15) in Colombia, and Caracas, Venezuela (date to be confirmed).
JetBlue has never served Caracas before, but signaled it would in a statement in May. The Department of Transportation canceled a 2019 ban on passenger and cargo flights between the U.S. and Venezuela in January following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
American Airlines was the first U.S. airline to return to the country; its Miami-Caracas service started April 30. United has said it will reconnect Houston and Caracas in early August.
“We are very excited about this next phase of growth and look forward to delivering great value to the people of South Florida,” JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said in a news release. “We’re building on our already strong foundation by adding more destinations, creating more connections, and giving customers even more reasons to choose JetBlue.”
With the new routes factored in, JetBlue will operate more than 125 daily departures to more than 55 nonstop destinations from Fort Lauderdale.
