Last week JetBlue teased an imminent longhaul route announcement and today new service has been announced between its Boston hub and both Madrid, Spain and Edinburgh, Scotland.
JetBlue Announces Service To Madrid, Edinburgh From Boston
JetBlue continues to tinker with its domestic and international route network as it attempts to return to profitability. In 2025, it will focus longhaul expansion from its Boston (BOS) hub at the expense of New York (JFK), where it faces more competition from both full-service and budget carriers.
Last week, I predicted “new service to Rome or Milan and to Madrid or Barcelona, since JetBlue seems to be targeting traditionally safe transatlantic routes.” Well, I was partially correct…JetBlue will launch new service to Madrid (MAD) starting next summer as well as to Edinburgh (EDI), a destination it already serves from New York and will again serve next summer.
JetBlue Launches Boston – Madrid Service
The new BOS-MAD service will run daily from May 23, 2025 to October 25, 2025, leaving Boston in the late evenign:
- B62261 Boston (BOS) – Madrid (MAD) dep 10:25PM arriving 11:30AM+1
- B62260 Madrid (MAD) – Boston (BOS) dep 1:30PM arr 3:20PM
JetBlue will use its premium Airbus A321LR on the route route, featuring:
- 24 Mint (business class) suites
- 24 Even More Space (extra legroom economy) seats
- 90 “Core” (standard economy class) seats
Iberia also serves this route (using its brand-new A321XLR).
JetBlue Launches Boston – Edinburgh Service
The new BOS-EDI service will run daily from May 22, 2025 to October 25, 2025, also leaving Boston in the late evening:
- B61079 Boston (BOS) – Edinburgh (EDI) dep 10:30PM arr 10:10AM+1
- B61080 Edinburgh (EDI) – Boston (BOS) dep 12:10PM arr 2:22PM
JetBlue will use an Airbus A321neo on the route route, featuring:
- 16 Mint (business class) suites
- 42 Even More Space (extra legroom economy) seats
- 102 “Core” (standard economy class) seats
Delta also serves this route.
Will These New Routes Be Successful?
JetBlue remains in a period of transition and I am hopeful that with the Spirit merger dead, it will again seek closer ties with American Airlines.
Going it alone is tough and I appreciate these route adds and shift to Boston, but I do question the overall longhaul viability if JetBlue struggles to make flights between New York and London or Paris work.
While there appears to be an almost insatiable demand for transatlantic summer travel, JetBlue’s cost structure is higher and it is not easy to operate a limited route network when there are so many fixed costs when operating an overseas station.
I’m a huge JetBlue fan, though, and I root for success on these routes and for the entire airline. I think JetBlue is a necessary competitor that puts pressure on legacy carriers to keep their product competitive. JetBlue’s extra legroom and free wi-fi were game-changers at the time and remain an important competitive advantage.
CONCLUSION
JetBlue announced new service from Boston to Madrid and Edinburgh next summer. The new routes represent a shift in strategy away from New York JFK with a focus on Boston. All together, JetBlue will operate seven transatlantic routes from Boston next summer (Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Madrid Paris) and five from New York (Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, London Heathrow, Paris).
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