JetBlue Finds New Home in San Juan

US low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways has reached an agreement with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority to move its operation at San Juan's Luis Munoz Marin International Airport to the new Terminal A from Terminal C. The move, scheduled for the end of May, will allow the airline to operate within the larger facilities with additional counter space and gates and will enable it to accommodate future growth at the airport.

"We're always looking for state-of-the-art facilities that allow us to deliver the same great experience we do in the air, on the ground," said Rich Smyth, Vice President of Corporate Real Estate, JetBlue Airways. "The brand-new Terminal A, right next door to where we are now, will greatly improve our customers' experience while accommodating our projected growth over the next decade."

This coming month JetBlue will operate 266 weekly flights into Puerto Rico ranking it as the largest international operator into the country with a 29.3 per cent share of the available seat capacity. It’s main destination is San Juan which it serves on an at least daily basis from Boston Logan International, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford Bradley International, Jacksonville, New York JFK, Orlando International and Tampa International in the US; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and St Croix and St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Flights are also offered from New York JFK and Orlando International to both Aguadilla and Ponce.

JetBlue first made its debut in Puerto Rico in May 2002 when it launched its first flights to San Juan from New York JFK, subsequently adding direct links to Aguadilla in May 2004 and Ponce in June 2005. In November 2005 it added links to San Juan from Newark Liberty International, with Orlando International following in May 2006, Boston Logan International in December 2006 and other routes have followed.

The table below highlights how JetBlue has developed in Puerto Rico since its arrival in the market in May 2002. For the last two years it has provided more than one million seats into the market and forecasts this to grow above 1.5 million for the first time this year, with an estimated provisional annual capacity growth of 6.8 per cent for 2012.