UK Aviation News reports that JetBlue has secured London Heathrow slots for it planned new London service starting in 2021.
Report: JetBlue Secures Slots, Will Serve London Heathrow
In April 2019, JetBlue announced it intended to serve London (and eventually additional destinations in Europe) using Airbus A321XLR aircraft. Even then, the carrier was clear service would not begin until 2021. Up until now, JetBlue has been coy about which airport in London it will use for its planned transatlantic service from Boston (BOS) and New York (JFK). Prior to the pandemic, this may have been a supply issue as well, as highly-coveted Heathrow slots are not easy to obtain.
But the pandemic has apparently opened the door for JetBlue at Heathrow. Although JetBlue has not responded to my request for comment, the report just makes sense considering how the industry has changed over the last half year. It is not clear who JetBlue obtained the slots from or when service will actually begin.
Could it be that JetBlue is borrowing slots from American Airlines as part of its new partnership? I suppose, but I’m also not sure AA wants that sort of competition on what of its (former?) bread-and-butter routes. JetBlue Mint offers not only a superior suite in business class, but unparalleled onboard food and service for a U.S. carrier.
Another possibility is that JetBlue secured a slot for free. How is that possible? In May, American Airlines and British Airways agreed to surrender four Heathrow slots due to anti-competition concerns. Those so-called “remedy” slots were to:
- Boston
- Dallas
- Miami
- Philadelphia
Boston would certainly be of interest to JetBlue. It is possible that a slot to establish New York service may have been secured from another airline.
CONCLUSION
My hunch was that JetBlue was going to serve Gatwick. News that JetBlue will serve Heathrow is a welcome surprise, both in terms of convenience and to keep competitive pressures on legacy airline pricing.
Are you surprised JetBlue was able to obtain London Heathrow slots?
If JetBlue has ever expected to secure a single corporate contract for JFK/BOS-LON, Heathrow was a must.
Tube/Express/Crossrail options that make LHR much more attractive for affluent leisure customers as well.
Matt…can you get any intel on JetBlue’s “London Lounge” concept…was featured on a backdrop on recent CEO TV appearance, but can’t find anything about it on the web.
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/09/14/jetblue-ceo-discusses-when-travel-demand-will-return.html
I’m sure this officially kills the chances any US carrier (like Delta) will ever serve LGW again, although I find it easier to get into central London from LGW than LHR.
Gatwick Express isn’t bad at all, especially if your destination is in the Victoria area.
The great irony of the “Heathrow preference” is that one can easily get from their seat onboard an aircraft parked at LGW to Victoria Station in the time they’d still be standing in line for passport control at LHR.
But hey, to each his or her own. :p
It’s about time the big guys got some good competition.
+1
If they launch service from both JFK and BOS to LHR service this is going to agitate Kirby ver at United.
very surprised they could pay the price and obtain LHR slots. The incumbents are bound to be going cookoo on this.
The prices of airport takeoff and landing slots post Covid-19 are likely to be significantly lower than pre Covid-19, even at LHR. In my opinion, they’re unlikely to ever return to such dizzying heights – £50 million was reportedly the pre Covid-19 going rate for ca single peak-time LHR slots – given that a lot of the business traffic that most legacy airlines with a relatively high cost base rely on to be profitable is unlikely to ever return and to be willing to pay the exorbitant pre Covid-19 premium fared, while first class passengers are likely to have migrated to private jets for good.
For the time being at least – and in my opinion until the 2021 summer timetable period at least – all UK takeoff and landing slots are essentially worthless given that LHR and LGW only operate at 30% and 20% of their capacity.
Oh, I doubt they’re going cookoo on this. JetBlue has a very good product, but will be flying a small plane and will not be offering many frequencies. However, competition is always good. Perhaps it may inspire American to up their product, though I doubt it. I do wonder if this may inspire American to re-think it’s partnership with JetBlue. They re-thought it before.
Although LHR was likely to be Jetblue’s primary target for launching its BOS-LON and NYC (JFK) -LON flights, we shouldn’t write them off as far as expanding the footprint of their transatlantic service to and from LON to LGW and, indeed, the other airports serving LON as well, once BOS-LHR and JFK-LHR have become profitable and increased frequencies to two and three daily return flights each way.
LON-NYC is the busiest intercontinental air route in the world, and LON-BOS is a busy intercontinental air route with multiple daily flights in each direction as well. And not all business traffic or premium leisure traffic finds using LHR convenient. For LON-NYC at least, there is sufficient business and leisure traffic in the LGW catchment as well – essentially covering the area to the South of the Thames in London via the affluent home county and commuter belt towns in East Surrey, Sussex, Kent, West Hants to the South coast (Brighton & Hove, Eadtbourne, Wothing etc) – as well to make an all-year round service at a frequency of one flight per day with a second daily, seasonal summer frequency viable. Given that BOS is an even bigger hub for Jetblue -“focus city” in the airline’s parlance – this is likely to work for BOS-LGW too. If all goes well with the airline’s new transatlantic venture, over time, the LON footprint could even be expanded to eventually include LTN, STN and LCY from JFK and possibly BOS as well, at least on a seasonal basis. Jetblue’s chances to make this work are better than at the full service legacy airlines, such as the established transatlantic U.S. competitors American and United because of Jetblue’s lower cost base and proven track record of serving multiple airports in the NYC area – JFK and EWR – profitably. Given that the latter isn’t a hub / focus for the airline but still generates a significant amount of traffic willing to fly to LON, this could result in an all-year round, daily EWR-LHR service as well and could eventually be complemented by either or both an LGW / LHR – FLL service as FLL is Jetblue’s MIA hub / focus and FLL-LON is within the A321XLR’s viable non-stop range.
Serving this wide a range of LON airports could be Jetblue’s competitive advantage – their unique USP – with JFK-LCY and BOS- LCY served at the same frequency as their LHR services the most intriguing part of such a strategy, given that Jetblue is also a major customer of the A220, a type that is approved to take off from and land at LCY and also has proven non-stop transatlantic range for these services in a lower density configuration. So, we could as well see daily all-Mint (business) class flights in and out of LCY that would be non-stop both ways, cutting out the SNN stop on the LON-JFK (and LON-BOS) sector, something BA never managed with its much heavier A318s.
As for Delta or no other U.S. [legacy] airline ever wanting to return to LGW again, although this is unlikely to be imminent, never say never.
LHR airport fees are the most expensive in the world. Avoid LHR at all cost. The security and customs are also downers. The slot will be recaptured when AA absorbs Jet Blue.
JetBlue has a superior onboard service to US Airlines???? have you only flown JetBlue? Their appetizer in mint is a price of bread and the entree is tapas…. all other US carriers with real first class have 5 course meals…. hilarious
“unparalleled onboard food and service”
Oh please, as if the tiny mint tapas compare to the full course meals on UA, DL or AA.
Please don’t use herringbone seats that I keep seeing rumored!!!