JetBlue to end flights to Charlotte
Nation's 8th-largest carrier ends 18-year run at Charlotte's airport
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Airline pulls out of Charlotte to focus more on New England and Florida; Had 1-2 flights a day to Boston
by Ted Reed
JetBlue says it will cease flying to Charlotte after 18 years.
The carrier — the 8th-largest in the U.S. — said Wednesday that its final day of service in Charlotte will be Oct. 26. It currently operates one or two daily flights to Boston, depending on the day of the week.
“Exiting a market is a difficult decision and we were privileged to have served Charlotte,” a JetBlue spokesperson said in an email to The Charlotte Ledger, attributing the move to “underperformance and lack of customer demand.
“We are doing this to make investments in other parts of our network,” the spokesperson said. “Elsewhere in North Carolina, JetBlue will continue to serve Raleigh/Durham.”
For Charlotte flights after Oct. 26, JetBlue will automatically refund payment.
The Charlotte-Boston market is also served by American Airlines, which has a hub in Charlotte; and Delta Air Lines, which has a hub in Boston. American operates eight daily Charlotte-Boston flights, essentially flying the route every two hours. Delta operates a half dozen daily Charlotte-Boston flights. Spirit and Frontier also fly the route.
JetBlue has been revising its route system in the wake of an aborted merger with Spirit and a federal judge’s ruling that ended a partnership with American in Boston and New York. The revisions have been largely focused on boosting service in New England markets. On Wednesday, the carrier said it would expand in Manchester, New Hampshire, and add routes to Florida.
The pullback comes as other airlines have been increasing service to Charlotte. American has been adding flights, Delta is preparing to add gates and an airline lounge on Concourse A and Frontier added flights this year to seven new cities.
In April 2006, JetBlue announced its intent to begin Charlotte service from its JFK hub. In response, hub carrier US Airways slashed its Charlotte-JFK fares.
But in October 2019, JetBlue ended JFK service, planning to use its Charlotte gate space to expand Boston-Charlotte to five daily departures.
It turns out that didn’t work, either.
Ted Reed covers the airport and airlines for The Ledger. He is a former Miami Herald and Charlotte Observer reporter. His latest book is Kenny Riley and Black Union Labor Power in the Port of Charleston.
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