New York's Hometown Airline™ JetBlue Airways Lights Up New York City Skyline

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) tonight flipped the switch on a newly constructed sign atop its headquarters in Long Island City, illuminating the newest addition to New York City's iconic skyline. The sign, composed of individual letters spelling the airline's name and positioned atop the roof of the historic Brewster Building, cements JetBlue's commitment to The Empire State.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120829/NY65442 )
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110216/NY49312LOGO )

New York has been a part of JetBlue's story from the beginning. The airline was founded in New York City in 1998 and first took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2000 to two destinations. As the airline grew, JetBlue introduced competitive fares to its current 56 nonstop destinations from JFK. JetBlue is the largest domestic airline at JFK (a) and the only commercial carrier with headquarters in New York City.

"We are proud to have our brand illuminated in the New York City skyline," said JetBlue President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Barger. "New York is integral to the heritage and culture of JetBlue. It is not only about doing business here, it is about being engrained in the community and bringing a little bit of New York with us everywhere we go."

"New York City's iconic skyline is a little brighter tonight, thanks to the success of JetBlue," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "It's a great day for a company when it sees its name written in lights at the center of the global economy, and the new sign announces loud and clear that Long Island City is a world-class place to do business and create jobs."

"Like the other signs that dot the Long Island City skyline, the JetBlue sign will become a New York icon," said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. "But it will also mean more than that – it will represent JetBlue's commitment to this city as New York's hometown airline. As a great New York-based company, JetBlue has created good-paying jobs right here in the city, and I congratulate them on the lighting of this beacon beside their new headquarters."

"The arrival of JetBlue in Long Island City is a milestone in the transformation of Queens Plaza, the gateway to Queens," said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. "As this area continues to develop into one of New York City's foremost neighborhoods to do business, I know JetBlue will continue to light the way for others who will choose to call Long Island City home."

"As one of the area's largest employers, I'm thrilled JetBlue will now be a part of our city's iconic skyline," said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. "JetBlue's Long Island City headquarters is another great example of a business utilizing old industrial space for modern purposes and creating good paying jobs for New Yorkers."

"JetBlue is an important component of our economic engine," said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. "The lighting of this sign tonight is just the latest sign that JetBlue is going to continue to grow and prosper here in Queens, where they have been a good neighbor and provided jobs, opportunities and economic growth. We are delighted that they have stayed in the great City of New York at the gateway to Queens."

In keeping with the iconic Long Island City skyline, JetBlue's logo features individually cut letters spelling the airline's name mounted on an open-frame structure. It is positioned on top of the historic Brewster Building, extending 40-feet high from the seventh floor rooftop facing southwest over Queens Plaza. Each letter is individually formed as a steel structure with an acrylic facade. The "j" is the tallest letter measuring 25 feet, four inches. During the day, the sign is blue. At night, sustainable LED light strips illuminate the sign white from within.

The sign was constructed by Going Sign Company of Plainview, New York. A time-lapse video of the construction and other coverage is available at http://blog.jetblue.com.

To celebrate the illumination of the new sign, JetBlue announced a special Twitter sweepstakes for residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on @JetBlue. To find out more, visit www.jetblue.com/BrightLightsBlueCity.

About JetBlue Airways
JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline™ with other focus cities in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Juan. 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 71 cities with 800 daily flights and plans to launch service to Providence, Rhode Island, as well as Cartagena, Colombia; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and Samana, Dominican Republic this November, subject to receipt of government approval. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information call +1 800-538-2583 (TTY/TDD +1 800-336-5530) from the USA, or visit www.jetblue.com.

(a) Based on both number of departures and service capacity as measured by Available Seat Miles (ASMs).

SOURCE JetBlue Airways