JetBlue begins flights from New York to London at $202

Bloomberg

Just nine days after the UK granted vaccinated Americans quarantine-free entry, JetBlue Airways Corp is making its first foray into transatlantic service, starting flights on the world’s most lucrative air route—from New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow—on Wednesday.
It’s a long-awaited move for fans of the carrier, which has made its name offering affordable, friendly service primarily in the US and the Caribbean. And it’s only the first step in a plan to bring its loyal customers to Europe: The airline is also set to begin service from Boston to London within the year.
In coach, it’s possible to find a one-way ticket from JFK to Heathrow for as low as $202. But the greatest asset JetBlue brings to the competitive route is its affordable business class product, Mint, with 24 enclosed suites on each A321. Those seats are selling from about $1,660 round trip — even lower than the originally advertised starting fare of $1,979. The airline’s convenient schedule, which also includes flights to London Gatwick, offers easy overnights on the outbound legs and midday departures on the returns.
The company has hit one a bump in the road, even before its inaugural flight. In late July, Chief Executive Officer Robin Hayes said in an earnings call that while flights to both Heathrow and Gatwick would begin on a daily basis in August, they’d be scaled down to four times a week in September, reflecting reduced demand on a route that typically nets airlines $1 billion annually. Also a factor: Brits are still not allowed to enter the US except under certain extraordinary circumstances.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Virgin Atlantic Airways Chief Commercial Officer Juha Jarvinen told Bloomberg in July that bookings between New York and London were more than doubling on a weekly basis, and legacy carriers such as American Airlines and United Airlines have restored and expanded service to the British capital after cutting it back in 2020.
Getting in on the route now, before the windows are fully flung open, offers advantages not only for JetBlue but also for a slew of competitors vying to meet its low-cost, high-comfort standards. Now may seem like an odd moment to launch service in a travel corridor that’s not yet fully opened, but the opposite might be true. JetBlue’s entry into the market should increase competition among airlines and drive down already-low prices. Flights from the US to Europe are averaging about $400—even lower from New York.

“While JetBlue’s first overseas routes may not get a warm welcome from Delta or American, they’re great news for travelers hoping for a cheaper flight to London,” Keyes says.
Other airlines are making similar transatlantic investments. The Norwegian startup Norse Atlantic Airways, founded in February, announced that its inaugural flights will take off by summer 2022. It will offer service to New York and London, as well as Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Oslo, and Paris.
And while it’s not yet flying to London, La Compagnie, a small carrier whose Airbus A321neos are outfitted exclusively with business class seats, may soon be another competitor for JetBlue’s Mint. The French airline announced three new routes in June, connecting Newark to Paris, Tel Aviv, and Milan. Seats to Italy start at $1,700.
Meanwhile, United made a buzzed-about decision to invest $3 billion in the purchase of 15 supersonic planes, which could cut the seven-hour journey between New York and London to just three and a half hours by the end of the decade.
More transatlantic competition is on the way. Play Air Hf, commonly called Play, is a new low-cost carrier which already flies from Iceland to London Stansted—it’s eyeing expansion plans to the U.S. in spring 2022. Newly public Frontier Airlines is apparently mirroring JetBlue’s early expansion strategy by first adding international routes throughout the Caribbean. And Breeze Airways, another low-cost carrier currently connecting 16 U.S. cities, may have only taken to the skies this past May, but it’s already said to have international ambitions. It’s the brainchild of none other than David Neeleman, the serial aviation entrepreneur who also founded—who else?—JetBlue.