Fees and focus on leisure
In a statement to Simple Flying, a JetBlue spokesperson confirmed that as part of the airline’s JetForward strategy to build the best leisure network on the East Coast, it has decided to end its thrice daily services between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA). According to Ishrion Aviation, the flights will end on April 29.
“The airport fees charged to JetBlue at LGA have risen sharply – now about $50 per traveler – which make it impossible for us to offer the low fares customers expect while maintaining profitability on this route.”
The airline’s spokesperson added that it will continue flying between Boston and New York via the city’s other airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
Furthermore, it will remain present at New York-LaGuardia , with the peak of daily departures being 13. It will redeploy three takeoff and landing slots to leisure markets while leasing the remaining three to an undisclosed airline.
“We remain committed to serving New York travelers and will continue discussions with the Port Authority on options to lower our costs at both LGA and Newark so that we can keep delivering affordable fares and great service in these vital New York airports.”
Slots going to Canada
However, considering that Porter Airlines announced up to three daily flights between Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and New York LaGuardia on January 27, JetBlue could have leased its slots to the Canadian carrier.
The airline’s Embraer E195-E2 services between Toronto Pearson and New York LaGuardia will begin on May 1, with the Canadian airline pointing out that the flights will provide convenient connections to other Canadian destinations via Toronto-Pearson.
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium's Diio Mi airline planning tool showed that the route will have an eye-watering 170 weekly departures in May, including Porter Airlines’ 20 weekly departures.
By a large margin, Air Canada provides the most capacity on the route, with 77 weekly departures and 4.4 million available seat kilometers (ASK) in May.
Delta Air Lines and American Airlines should have 39 and 34 weekly departures, respectively, between Toronto Pearson and New York LaGuardia.
Curious business case
Scott Kirby, the Chief Executive Officer of United Airlines , said during the airline’s Q4 2024 earnings call on January 22 that cost convergence had been the most impactful at the big, high-cost airports in the United States.
“The cost per passenger in the 3 New York City airports is $48 compared to the average ULCC [ultra-low-cost carrier – ed. note] fare of $67 in those 3 airports. When an airline is spending 72% of their fare on airport costs, it's hard for me to imagine that they could ever be profitable in those airports.”
However, those fees have not swayed some low-cost carriers to reduce services from/to New York. For example, Frontier Airlines announced new services from New York-JFK to Miami International Airport (MIA), Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), with flights starting between March 30 and May 1.
