JetBlue Airways is using Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) to expand one-stop connections between secondary U.S. cities and the Caribbean and Latin America as it capitalizes on the collapse of Spirit Airlines.
Speaking during the airline’s second quarter (Q2) earnings call, President Marty St. George said Spirit’s liquidation has created one of the biggest network opportunities in JetBlue’s history, enabling the carrier to strengthen connectivity through FLL.
“Given our existing focus city there, Spirit’s exit represented one of the most significant strategic opportunities JetBlue has seen in many years,” he said.
The strategy includes a new banked schedule at FLL designed to increase connecting opportunities between smaller U.S. cities and JetBlue’s Caribbean and Latin American network.
“The example we gave was Albany,” St. George said. “If you look at Boston and New York, we have great access to any leisure destination in the Americas. If you look at a place like Albany, we went to Lauderdale and Orlando.
“Now with connectivity in Fort Lauderdale, if you’re a customer in Albany, for example, you get access to all of the Caribbean and everywhere we fly in Central and South America. So I think it’s really a game changer for TrueBlue as much as it is for the local market.”
Analysis of OAG Schedules Analyser data shows JetBlue is scheduled to offer about 6.3 million departure seats from FLL during 2026, up about 55% from 4 million in 2025. The airline’s share of airport capacity is projected to increase from about 20% to almost 31%, making it the airport’s largest carrier following Spirit’s exit.
The network expansion includes new or restored service from FLL to Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago O’Hare, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston Intercontinental, Jacksonville, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, and Ponce, Puerto Rico. Additional routes to Barranquilla and Cali in Colombia are scheduled to begin later this year, followed by Columbus and Indianapolis.
The growth has largely been achieved by redeploying aircraft from elsewhere in the network. OAG data shows JetBlue’s scheduled capacity from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport declining by about 5% year over year in 2026, while Newark Liberty International Airport also sees a reduction as the airline concentrates expansion in South Florida.
Despite the greater emphasis on connecting traffic, St. George said Fort Lauderdale would remain primarily a local market. “It will be well under 50%,” he said when asked about the proportion of connecting passengers. “The local market there is just so strong.”
During Q2, Fort Lauderdale unit revenue increased 11% year over year despite capacity growing by nearly 40%. The airport also became one of JetBlue’s fastest-growing loyalty markets, with TrueBlue enrollments rising 44% and co-branded credit card acquisitions more than doubling. JetBlue’s earnings presentation also shows Fort Lauderdale accounting for all net capacity growth during the second half of 2026.
JetBlue expects to operate more than 150 daily departures from Fort Lauderdale by the end of 2026 or early 2027 and believes there is additional room for expansion. “We do think there’s another tranche of growth that can come in,” St. George said.
However, he added that future flying will depend on improvements to airport infrastructure. St. George said international arrivals capacity remains constrained, while FLL’s planned Terminal 5 expansion is not expected to open before 2030.
Overall, JetBlue reported total operating revenues of $2.7 billion in the three months to June 30, up 14.5% year over year, on a 20.8% jump in operating expenses inclusive of an 80.7% hike in fuel costs. The carrier reported a net loss of $247 million for the period, compared to a year-ago net loss of $74 million, and recorded an operating margin of -5.2%. It executed a $500 million aircraft-backed financing transaction during the quarter, to strengthen liquidity.
Related Content
