JetBlue to cancel some flights out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. Are more coming?

Mike Diamond, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·3 min read

JetBlue Airways, struggling to cope with the expense of its failed merger attempt with Spirit Airlines, will soon be cancelling flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) to Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, Kansas City, Nashville and Salt Lake City. It also plans to end service from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood to Bogota, Colombia, Quito, Ecuador, and Lima, Peru.

JetBlue flies out of Palm Beach International Airport, but as of now, there are no cancellations for routes flying in and out of that airport. PBI is experiencing record passenger volume, and recently added a JetBlue nonstop flight from PBI to Los Angeles.

The cancellations will occur on June 13. They are part of an effort to cut costs after a federal judge disallowed the Spirit-JetBlue merger, ruling it would raise air fares for consumers across the country. JetBlue and Spirit this month called off the merger plans. JetBlue will pay Spirit $69 million. Spirit shareholders have already received $425 million in prepayments from JetBlue. JetBlue has incurred losses exceeding $2 billion since its last profitable year in 2019.

JetBlue plans to cut nearly a third of its flights out of Los Angeles International Airport in June, including routes to Las Vegas, Miami and San Francisco, the airline said in a memo to employees, according to Bloomberg.

A JetBlue plane takes off from Palm Beach International Airport. The airline is the airport's dominant carrier. More than 1 million passengers flew on its planes at PBI in 2023.
A JetBlue plane takes off from Palm Beach International Airport. The airline is the airport's dominant carrier. More than 1 million passengers flew on its planes at PBI in 2023.

More: JetBlue, Spirit call off $3.8 billion merger; what's the impact on South Florida airports?

“Every route has to earn its right to stay in the network,” Dave Jehn, vice president of network planning and airline partnerships, said in the memo. “It’s more important than ever that we are surgical about every route in our network.”

JetBlue, though, announced that it will increase service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and the Caribbean, including Cancun, Montego Bay and Punta Cana, and parts of the Northeast U.S. The carrier reported it will also add flights in the winter from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood to Albany and Buffalo, as well as Providence, Rhode Island, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. So JetBlue says the overall number of departures will remain about the same at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood with the new flights offsetting the eliminated ones.

JetBlue's passenger count continues to fall at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport

JetBlue has announced a number of flight cancellations as it moves on from the failed merger with Spirit Airlines. JetBlue said the cuts were necessary to ensure its profitability. Flights out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has been affected.
JetBlue has announced a number of flight cancellations as it moves on from the failed merger with Spirit Airlines. JetBlue said the cuts were necessary to ensure its profitability. Flights out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has been affected.

JetBlue is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood’s No. 2 carrier, accounting for about 20% of its passenger count. But the airline had been cutting back at FLL since 2019 while other airlines have returned or even exceeded their 2019 levels. According to the airport's passenger statistics web site, JetBlue’s passenger count for 2023 fell by about 1.6 million, or 20% when compared to 2019.

Spirit saw an increase of about 24% from 2019 to 2023; it currently accounts for 29% of all passengers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. Spirit has also been restructuring its network. Late last year, it eliminated service to Denver from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and further flight reductions are expected to take place as Spirit, like JetBlue, takes steps to return to profitability.

Analysts, though, have questioned whether Spirit can survive as a stand-alone carrier. Since Jan. 1, its share price has fallen nearly 70%.

Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: JetBlue cancelling flights out of FLL airport in Florida