JetBlue Will Launch New York to Paris Service Next Summer

JetBlue, one of the airline industry’s biggest disruptors, is getting ready to launch its second transatlantic service.

Starting next summer, JetBlue will launch nonstop service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the carrier’s second nonstop transatlantic after its New York to London addition in August 2021. Seats will go on sale in the coming months.

After that, JetBlue said it plans to later add nonstop service between Boston Logan International and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

“JetBlue is offering something completely unique to what you get from the big global legacy airlines on these routes – where a single high-fare joint venture operates nearly three-quarters of the flying,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer of JetBlue. “The response to our London service is proof that combining great service with low fares works.”

According to JetBlue, France is the world’s most visited country and Paris is currently the largest European destination not served by JetBlue from its northeast hubs in Boston and New York. JetBlue said that it could boost service to the French capital even further in the future.

Both the New York and Boston routes to Paris will allow JetBlue to even further establish itself as a major player between the U.S. and Europe.

When the carrier first announced its plans to enter the international market between London and the U.S. in 2019, there were questions about whether or not the service could even be profitable. Instead, the thought was that offering transatlantic service between those cities could help JetBlue further grow its domestic market and better compete against the U.S.’s Big Four airlines.

Now, JetBlue is entering yet another major international market, allowing its current customers to have another option to fly to Europe, and further placing itself alongside those legacy carriers. It also furthers JetBlue’s strength in the Northeast, a region that it serves through its Northeast Alliance (NEA) with American Airlines which has been up and running for more than a year and a half.

On the airline’s third-quarter earnings call last month, Hayes said that the NEA is “fundamentally about growing capacity in consumer choice” and has done just that. Mainly, it has promoted competition with other carriers in New York and Boston.

“The NEA is doing what it set out to do, giving consumers more choice and better value. And we look forward to continuing to expand these benefits,” he said.

The NEA had reportedly been an issue for JetBlue’s acquisition of Spirit Airlines, a deal that was ultimately agreed to in July. That deal still needs regulatory approval, but JetBlue’s executive team is still optimistic about its closing.