JetBlue Airways plans to end service in several cities and reduce flights from Los Angeles as it winds down after years of losses and focuses on stronger markets.
The changes will also help the airline cope with the grounding of some planes for inspection of Pratt & Whitney engines, executives told employees Tuesday.
JetBlue Airways will withdraw from Kansas City, Missouri, starting June 13th. Bogotá, Colombia. Quito, Ecuador. and Lima, Peru.
“These markets are unprofitable and our aircraft time could be better utilized,” Dave Jenn, the airline’s vice president of network planning, said in a memo to employees.
The New York-based airline will also fly from Los Angeles to several destinations in June, including Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami. Flights between Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Atlanta will be discontinued. Austin, Texas. Nashville; service between New Orleans and Salt Lake City, and New York and Detroit.
JetBlue Airways has lost more than $2 billion since its last profitable year in 2019. The company sought to grow through partnerships and mergers, but the Biden administration’s Justice Department filed suit to break both contracts.
Last May, a federal judge ordered JetBlue and American Airlines to end their partnerships in Boston and New York. In January, another judge blocked JetBlue from acquiring Spirit, saying the proposed $3.8 billion deal violated antitrust laws.
Robin Hayes, the architect of these failed deals, resigned as CEO in February and was replaced by Joanna Geraghty.
JetBlue, led by Geraghty, is reeling from its legal defeat and is turning its attention to growth on its own, but that will take more time.
Even before the CEO change, investor Carl Icahn began buying nearly 10% of JetBlue’s stock, and his side won two seats on the airline’s board.
The airline is struggling to improve its operations.jet blue Ranked 9th It ranked among the nation’s 10 largest airlines for both canceled flights and on-time arrivals last year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics.
