On May 19, 2021, JetBlue (JBLU) announced that the airline was set to jump into the transatlantic market in the summer 2021.
JetBlue (JBLU) will enter the transatlantic market with nonstop operations between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) beginning August 11, 2021. JetBlue (JBLU) would add further flights to its transatlantic schedule with flights between JFK and London Gatwick Airport (LGW) starting September 29, 2021.
“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,” CEO of JetBlue Robin Hayes said. “JFK-LHR, the single largest international air travel market from the US, has long suffered from outrageously high fares for far too long, especially in premium cabins.”
On April 29, 2021, JetBlue (JBLU) announced it had taken delivery of its first Airbus A321 Long Range (LR) aircraft bound to launch the airline’s first-ever transatlantic service to LHR.
“The A321LR platform – offering the range of a wide-body but with the economics of a single-aisle aircraft – is the right size for us and will allow us to effectively compete with our award-winning service and low fares on flights between the U.S. and London,” said Hayes.
Pratt-powered single-aisle Airbus A321LR aircraft can reach a speed of 876 km/h and has a range of 7,400 kilometers, the parameter which, according to JetBlue (JBLU), would allow it to tap into long-haul markets that were not previously possible with the airline’s existing fleet. Also, the newly delivered Airbus A321LR offers 30% fuel savings and a nearly 50% reduction in noise footprint.
Additionally, JetBlue (JBLU) is the first launch partner for the new Airspace cabin configuration designed by Airbus to bring long-haul style to the Airbus A321 aircraft. With the Airspace cabin configuration, the A321LR aircraft has a layout of only 138 seats: 114 in economy class and 24 in JetBlue’s (JBLU) Mint Suites.
Currently, JetBlue (JBLU) has a total of 272 aircraft in its fleet, planespotters.net data shows. The largest part of the airline’s fleet consists of Airbus A320 family aircraft with 130 Airbus A320-200s as well as 80 Airbus A321 aircraft. Adding to that, JetBlue (JBLU) operates 60 Embraer ERJ-190 jets and two Airbus A220-300s.