JetBlue Takes on Transatlantic Market with Low Fares to London Heathrow, Gatwick
Service from New York-JFK starts in August followed by Boston in 2022
JetBlue is making its highly anticipated entrance into the transatlantic market with nonstop service between New York’s John F. Kennedy international Airport (JFK) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) starting August 11, 2021. New York’s Hometown Airline® will further enhance its U.S. and U.K. schedules with nonstop service between New York-JFK and London Gatwick Airport (LGW) starting September 29, 2021. London service from Boston, where JetBlue is the leading airline, will start in Summer 2022.
“The pandemic has opened doors to London’s two busiest airports, and we look forward to bringing customers low fares and great service at both Heathrow and Gatwick,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, JetBlue. “JFK-LHR, the single largest international air travel market from the US, has long suffered from outrageously high fares, especially in premium cabins. We’re ready to change that. We’ve always said that JetBlue would serve multiple London airports, and we’re pleased to have secured a path at Heathrow and for long-term growth at Gatwick, which offers speed, low costs, and convenient accessibility into Central London.”
Flights on both routes will operate daily on JetBlue’s new Airbus A321 Long Range (LR) aircraft with 24 redesigned Mint suites, 117 core seats and the sleek and spacious Airspace cabin interior. The airline is set to take delivery of three A321LRs in 2021, all operating on the JFK routes. Additional A321LRs scheduled for 2022 will operate Boston service. The A321LR platform – offering the range of a wide-body but with the economics of a single-aisle aircraft – will allow JetBlue to effectively compete with the airline’s award-winning service and low fares on flights between the U.S. and London.
Seats on both Heathrow and Gatwick routes are on sale now with fares for U.S.-based travelers starting at $599 roundtrip and $1,979 roundtrip for JetBlue’s premium Mint experience. U.K.-based travelers will see introductory roundtrip fares starting at £329, and £999 for Mint.
More Choices: A Tale of Two Airports
The airline can immediately begin growing a meaningful transatlantic customer base with diversified flying at two London airports. This strategy is consistent with JetBlue’s successful multi-airport approaches in New York, Los Angeles, South Florida and other metropolitan regions of the airline’s U.S. network.
Heathrow, Located 14 miles west of Central London, was the second busiest airport in the world by international traffic in 2019. JetBlue will operate from Heathrow’s newest terminal, Terminal 2, with easy access to dozens of shops and restaurants. Heathrow travelers benefit from a variety of convenient ground transportation options including the Heathrow Express and London Underground, which offer rail connections with Central London.
“When we launched Mint in 2014, we cut in half the cost of premium travel between New York and California, and now we’re ready to shake up the transatlantic market the same way, with Mint fares that will half the cost of a full-fare walkup business class seat on the legacy carriers,” said Hayes. “Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world, and our initial schedule is made possible due to temporary slot availability from the past year. We continue to work with the slot coordinators and the U.S. and U.K. governments to identify long-term pathways to continue serving Heathrow, as we believe the public benefit from true competition into this market will be extremely meaningful.”
