JetBlue Files to Fly New Capital-to-Capital Services from Washington's Reagan National Airport

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) today filed with the United States Department of Transportation a "capital-to-capital" application for four beyond-perimeter slot exemptions to launch new nonstop service from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to two unique and sought-after destinations: San Juan, Puerto Rico and Austin, Texas.

JetBlue's proposed new flights would be the only nonstop service between the U.S. capital's preferred business airport and the capitals of Puerto Rico and Texas – both of which are located beyond the airport's 1,250-mile perimeter and are among the 10 largest markets without nonstop air service to Reagan National.                                                    

Award-winning JetBlue intends to offer one daily nonstop roundtrip flight to San Juan's Luiz Munoz Marin International Airport, with connecting service to St. Thomas, the capital of the United States Virgin Islands, as well as one daily nonstop roundtrip flight to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Both routes are supported by the two communities and their respective leaders.

"JetBlue's proposed new service to San Juan and Austin will provide tremendous benefit to the traveling public," said Robert Land, JetBlue's senior vice president of government affairs and associate general counsel. "JetBlue has long had a simple formula for deciding which markets to serve: we look for routes that are underserved, overpriced, or both. The markets from our nation's capital to San Juan and Austin fit that bill, and would be well-served with the addition of new nonstop JetBlue flights." 

JetBlue is Puerto Rico's largest airline, with service between the Commonwealth and 11 nonstop destinations throughout the U.S. mainland and the Caribbean. JetBlue will further strengthen its connection to the island later this spring when it launches two new destinations from San Juan: Newark, N.J. on April 25 and West Palm Beach, Fla. on May 15. Since its debut on the island a decade ago, the number of fliers traveling with JetBlue to/from San Juan has grown an average of 28 percent each year.

JetBlue launched service from Reagan National in November 2010, after more than a decade of attempting to enter the tightly restricted market. Despite being a small, limited incumbent carrier at highly concentrated Reagan National, JetBlue has stimulated traffic, lowered fares, and garnered significant support in the capital region as a result of its low fares and unique brand of customer service.

The airline currently offers a business-friendly schedule of seven daily roundtrip flights between Reagan National and Boston as well as daily service to its focus cities in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., where connections are available to destinations across the Caribbean and Latin America. This June, JetBlue plans to expand service to Boston to ten roundtrip flights per day, add more flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, and launch a new nonstop route to Tampa, Fla.

About JetBlue Airways
JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline(TM) with other focus cities in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Known for its award-winning service and free TV as much as its low fares, JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline (based on average fleet-wide seat pitch) as well as super-spacious Even More Space seats. JetBlue is also America's first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful and specific compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue's control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 70 cities with 750 daily flights with new service to Dallas/Fort Worth launching later this year. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information or reservations call 1-800-JET-BLUE (1-800-538-2583), TTY/TDD 1-800-336-5530, or visit www.jetblue.com.   

SOURCE JetBlue Airways