JetBlue

JetBlue Airways is a New York airline headquartered in Long Island City, Queens, with its main base at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It is included on this site as a low-fare carrier, but it is better described as a hybrid: alongside its economy fares it sells Mint, a lie-flat business class on longer flights, and from December 2026 a domestic first class called BlueFirst. It belongs to no global alliance.

The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1998 and founded by David Neeleman, initially under the name NewAir. Its plan borrowed Southwest's low-cost approach but added onboard extras that were unusual for a budget airline at the time, including seatback television at every seat. After winning 75 take-off and landing slots at JFK in September 1999, it began flying on 11 February 2000, with services to Buffalo and Fort Lauderdale. Neeleman was replaced as chief executive in May 2007, a few months after winter storms forced the airline to cancel around 1,700 flights.

Moving upmarket

Mint was announced in October 2013 and entered service in 2014 on Airbus A321s on transcontinental routes, later spreading to the Caribbean. In 2015 JetBlue began charging for checked bags on its lowest fares. In 2019 it announced flights to London using the long-range A321LR, which joined the fleet in 2021, and it confirmed New York to Paris for summer 2023. Under its current chief executive, Joanna Geraghty, who took over in February 2024, the airline has been running a recovery plan it calls JetForward, which includes a premium push: BlueHouse lounges at JFK and Boston, and BlueFirst, a two-by-two first-class cabin on aircraft that do not carry Mint. BlueFirst went on sale on 15 October 2026, with the first flight scheduled between Boston and Fort Lauderdale on 8 December 2026.

Alliances that did not last, and one that did

Two large partnership attempts ended in court. The Northeast Alliance with American Airlines, launched in July 2020 to co-ordinate flights at the New York airports and Boston, was ruled anticompetitive in May 2023 and unwound. JetBlue's agreed purchase of Spirit Airlines was blocked by a federal judge on 16 January 2024, and the two airlines called the deal off that March. In May 2025 JetBlue and United Airlines announced a narrower tie-up, Blue Sky, which links the two frequent-flyer programmes and lets each sell the other's flights; United is due to return to JFK using JetBlue slots from 2027.

Network and fleet

JetBlue flies mainly point to point and describes itself as a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Juan as well as New York. It serves more than 100 destinations in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada and Europe. Latin America has been a growth area: in October 2026 it opened Fort Lauderdale to Barranquilla and announced Fort Lauderdale to Cali, giving it four destinations in Colombia.

The fleet is all-Airbus. At 30 June 2026 JetBlue counted 296 aircraft: 129 A320s, 102 A321s and 65 A220-300s. That total includes aircraft temporarily out of service, four of them grounded by Pratt & Whitney engine inspections. The last Embraer E190 was retired on 9 September 2025, completing the switch to the A220 on smaller routes. The company's Q2 2026 investor update lists 12 A220 deliveries for 2026 and none of the A321neo; Wikipedia reports that 44 deliveries, including the A321XLR, were pushed back to 2030 or later under JetForward.