A US-UK travel corridor is out for now, but this isn’t stopping JetBlue from launching budget-friendly transatlantic flights. JetBlue plans to make its international presence in the UK felt with low-cost New York-London flights. They promise to drive the fares down especially for business travelers.
This sounds like a gamble considering business and international travel numbers are still down. JetBlue’s chief executive Robin Hayes, who is a Briton himself, promises that their offer is nothing like what other airlines offer. For instance, Hayes promised to not make the airline turn into Norwegian. Hayes said that “It’s very different to Norwegian”. He added that “We’re flying a plane we’ve always flown, and third of our capacity is already international, to 25 countries”. Hayes called their recent move to have low-cost New York-London flights as a “very small step” for the company.
Low-Cost New York-London Flights
What Makes JetBlue’s Low-Cost New York-London Flights different? For starters, Norwegian used the Boeing 787 Dreamliners. On the other hand, JetBlue will offer Airbus A321LR which is a narrow-body plane. Fewer seats would mean lower costs. Plus, JetBlue is going to have an innovative layout. This will have 24 seats in its business class called Mint.
Another advantage of the JetBlue plane is that there will only be two seats per row. Passengers will even have their sliding door privacy. Hayes claims that their low-cost New York-London flights will be far below the price range of competitors. They are starting at less than $2,000 for their round-trip tickets.
Hayes said that “Fares will come down across the board”. Their local US flights are also lower compared to their rival airlines. The fares from New York to LA have been slashed by around 50%. Hayes said that “We offer low fares but with a very good product”. He added that even JetBlue’s economy provides better legroom, a wider seat, plus free WiFi.
