JetBlue Airways Corporation (JetBlue) provides air transportation services.
JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline. As of December 31, 2024, JetBlue served over 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada and Europe.
The company offers its customers a distinctive flying experience, which the company refers to as the ‘JetBlue Experience’. The company delivers award-winning service and product with competitive fares that focuses on the entire customer exper...
JetBlue Airways Corporation (JetBlue) provides air transportation services.
JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline. As of December 31, 2024, JetBlue served over 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada and Europe.
The company offers its customers a distinctive flying experience, which the company refers to as the ‘JetBlue Experience’. The company delivers award-winning service and product with competitive fares that focuses on the entire customer experience, from booking an itinerary to arrival at the final destination. JetBlue is the carrier of choice for the majority of travelers who have been underserved by other airlines.
The company offers customers a choice of one of three JetBlue experiences: the core experience, EvenMore and Mint. Within the core experience, there are four fares to choose from: Blue Basic, Blue, Blue Plus, and Blue Extra. All JetBlue fares include a free carry-on bag, free seatback entertainment, free high-speed wi-fi, free snacks, and free non-alcoholic beverages. Customers can choose to ‘buy up’ to an option with additional offerings. These different fares allow customers to select the products or services they need or value when they travel, without having to pay for the things they do not need or value.
The company offers core customers comfortable seating to relax and enjoy the JetBlue experience. Beginning in January 2025, EvenMore Space was rebranded to EvenMore which in addition to giving customers the opportunity to enjoy additional legroom, priority security access, and early boarding, it also includes dedicated overhead bin space, complimentary alcoholic beverages, and premium snack options. The company’s EvenMore experience is available for purchase across its fleet. Customers on select coast-to-coast, Caribbean and Latin American routes and all transatlantic flights have the option to purchase Mint, the company’s lie-flat premium service. Each Mint seat includes a fully lie-flat bed with the company’s exclusive Tuft & Needle sleep experience. The company’s Mint customers also have access to an assortment of complimentary food, beverages and products, including a small-plates menu, artisanal snacks, alcoholic beverages, a blanket, pillows, an amenity kit and headphones.
On select transatlantic and coast-to-coast flights the company offers a reimagined version of its Mint experience with a completely refreshed cabin design featuring private suites with aisle access. Each of these select Mint aircraft also include two front row Mint Studios which offers the largest TV on a U.S. airline and an extra seat and space to work, lounge and entertain.
The company’s inflight entertainment system onboard its aircraft includes free live TV on select routes and premium movie channel offerings from JetBlue Features. The company’s entire fleet is equipped with Fly-Fi, a broadband product that allows gate-to-gate wi-fi at every seat. Customers also have access to the Fly-Fi Hub, a content portal where customers can access a wide range of additional content from their own personal devices. All customers may enjoy an assortment of free snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.
Because of the company’s network strength in leisure destinations, it also sells vacation packages through its wholly owned subsidiary, JetBlue Travel Products, LLC (JBTP), which offers one-stop, value-priced vacation services for self-directed packaged travel planning. These packages offer competitive fares for air travel on JetBlue along with a selection of JetBlue-recommended hotels and resorts, car rentals, and local attractions.
In 2024, the company announced plans to launch a domestic first-class experience across its non-Mint fleet. This will offer an additional option for customers seeking a premium travel experience. The company also announced plans for the opening of airport lounges at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Terminal 5 and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) Terminal C. The JFK lounge is expected to open in late 2025, with the BOS lounge expected to follow shortly thereafter.
Network
The company is a predominately point-to-point system carrier with 96% of the company’s routes touching at least one of its six focus cities: New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Orlando, Los Angeles, and San Juan. All six of the company’s focus cities are in regions with a diverse mix of traffic.
Leisure traveler focused airlines are often faced with high seasonality. As a result, the company continually works to manage its mix of customers to include both business travelers and travelers visiting friends and relatives (‘VFR’). VFR travelers tend to be slightly less seasonal and less susceptible to economic downturns than traditional leisure destination travelers. Understanding the purpose of our customers' travel helps us to optimize destinations, strengthen our network, and increase revenue.
As of December 31, 2024, the company served 105 destinations (‘BlueCities’) in 28 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 31 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada and Europe.
Airline Commercial Partnerships
The company’s commercial partnerships typically begin as an interline agreement allowing a customer to book a single itinerary with tickets on multiple airlines. On their day of travel, customers have a simplified airport experience with single check-in and bag drop.
Northeast Alliance
In July 2020, JetBlue and American Airlines entered into the Northeast Alliance (NEA), which was designed to optimize the company’s respective networks at JFK, BOS, LaGuardia Airport (LaGuardia), and Newark Liberty International Airport (Newark).
On September 21, 2021, the United States Department of Justice, along with the Attorneys General of six states and the District of Columbia filed suit against JetBlue and American Airlines seeking to enjoin the NEA, alleging that it violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The court issued a decision on May 19, 2023, permanently enjoining the NEA, and shortly thereafter the company initiated a wind down of the NEA. On July 28, 2023, the court issued its Final Judgement and Order Entering Permanent Injunction, which took effect on August 18, 2023. The wind down of the NEA is substantially complete.
In December 2022 and February 2023, four putative class actions lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, respectively, alleging that the NEA violates Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. Among other things, plaintiffs seek injunctive relief and monetary damages on behalf of a claimed putative class of direct purchasers of airline tickets from JetBlue and American Airlines and, depending on the specific case, other airlines on flights to or from NEA airports from July 16, 2020, through the time that the NEA was in effect and also to the alleged anticompetitive effects of the defendants' conduct. Following denial of a motion to dismiss, discovery has commenced. The company intends to vigorously defend against these lawsuits. These lawsuits are without merit.
Marketing
JetBlue is a widely recognized and respected global brand. JetBlue created a new category in air travel and its brand stands for offering a great product with competitive fares.
The company markets its services through advertising and promotions in various media forms, including popular social media outlets. The company engages in large multi-market programs, local events, and sponsorships across the company’s route network, as well as mobile marketing programs. The company’s targeted public and community relations efforts reflect its commitment to the communities the company serves, promote brand awareness, and complement the company’s strong reputation.
Distribution
The company’s primary and preferred distribution channel to customers is through the company’s website, www.jetblue.com, its lowest cost channel. The company’s website allows it to more closely control and deliver the JetBlue Experience while also offering the full suite of JetBlue Core fare options, EvenMore, Mint, JetBlue Vacations, and other ancillary services.
The company’s participation in a global distribution system (‘GDS’) supports its profitable growth, particularly in the business market. The company finds business customers are more likely to book through a travel agency or a booking product which relies on a GDS platform. The company participates in several major GDSs and online travel agents.
Customer Loyalty Program
TrueBlue is the company’s customer loyalty program designed to reward and recognize loyal customers. Members earn points with JetBlue, JetBlue Vacations, Paisly by JetBlue and select airline and travel partners. Members can redeem points for any JetBlue-operated flight or flight and hotel package, any time (no blackout dates). Redemption amounts are based on the current price for that trip. TrueBlue Mosaic is an additional program threshold for the company’s most loyal customers which features four levels, Mosaic 1, Mosaic 2, Mosaic 3, and Mosaic 4.
The company’s TrueBlue loyalty program brings many choices and perks for customers. TrueBlue offers tiles as the way to track and measure progress toward Mosaic status. Tiles are earned based on a combination of travel spend and credit card spend. The program is designed to provide TrueBlue members many opportunities to get rewarded, even before achieving Mosaic status. TrueBlue includes four distinct Mosaic levels, each featuring Mosaic Signature Perks and a selection from the Mosaic Perks You Pick menu.
The company has co-branded loyalty credit cards available to eligible U.S. residents, as well as co-brand agreements in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean to allow cardholders to earn TrueBlue points. The company’s co-branded credit cards in the United States are issued in partnership with Barclaycard on the MasterCard network. The company also has co-branded loyalty credit cards issued by Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and MasterCard in Puerto Rico, Banco Popular Dominicano and MasterCard in the Dominican Republic, and CIBC Caribbean and MasterCard in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands.
In 2024, the company also expanded the co-brand portfolio with the announcement of a premium co-branded credit card, which launched in January 2025.
The company has various agreements with other loyalty partners, including financial institutions, hotels, and car rental companies, that allows their customers to earn TrueBlue points through participation in its partners' programs. The company intends to continue to develop the footprint of its co-branded credit cards and pursue other loyalty partnerships in the future.
Route Structure
A vast majority of the company’s operations are centered in the heavily populated Northeast corridor of the U.S., which includes the New York and Boston metropolitan areas.
The company’s peak levels of traffic over the course of the typical year vary by route. Generally speaking, many of the company’s areas of operations in the Northeast experience ATC delays and weather-related disruptions resulting in increased costs associated with de-icing aircraft, canceling flights, accommodating displaced customers, and crewmember interrupted trip costs. Many of the company’s Florida and Caribbean routes experience bad weather conditions in the summer and fall due to thunderstorms and hurricanes.
Fleet Maintenance
Consistent with the company’s core value of safety, its Federal Aviation Administration (‘FAA’) approved maintenance programs are administered by the company’s technical operations department. The company uses qualified maintenance personnel who receive comprehensive training. The company maintains its aircraft and associated maintenance records in accordance with, if not exceeding, FAA regulations.
Fleet maintenance work is divided into four categories: line maintenance, heavy maintenance, engine maintenance, and component maintenance.
The bulk of the company’s line maintenance is handled by JetBlue technicians and inspectors. It consists of service checks, interior maintenance, weekly checks, phased ‘A’ checks and ‘B’ checks, along with periodic diagnostics, routine repairs, departure checks on the company’s transatlantic flights, and non-routine component replacements.
Heavy maintenance checks, or base maintenance, consist of a series of more complex maintenance, modification, and inspection tasks taking from one to six weeks to complete and are typically performed once every 36 months. All of the company’s aircraft heavy maintenance work is performed by third party FAA-certified repair stations and are subject to direct oversight by JetBlue personnel.
Engine maintenance is performed by the original equipment manufacturer of the engines themselves or by their approved network providers. The company has fixed price flight hour agreements for the repair, overhaul, modification, and logistics of its Airbus aircraft engines.
Component maintenance on equipment, such as auxiliary power units, landing gears, pumps, avionic computers, and in-flight entertainment equipment are all performed by a number of different FAA-certified repair stations that are surveilled and approved by JetBlue. Many of the company’s maintenance service agreements are based on a fixed cost per flight hour. These fixed costs vary based upon the age of the aircraft and other operating factors impacting the related component. Required maintenance not otherwise covered by these agreements is performed on a time and materials basis. All other maintenance activities are sub-contracted to qualified maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities.
Pratt & Whitney
In July 2023, Pratt & Whitney, a division of RTX Corporation, announced the requirement, mandated by the FAA, for removal of certain engines for inspection due to a rare condition involving powdered metal used in the production of certain engine parts on the PW1100G and PW1500G engine types. These engines power the company’s Airbus A220 and Airbus A321neo fleets. The powdered metal affects engines manufactured between October 2015 and September 2021. Those engines are required to be inspected after they have reached a reduced number of cycles dependent on the fleet type. As a result of these required inspections and other engine reliability deficiencies, as of December 31, 2024, the company had 11 aircraft grounded due to lack of engine availability. The company expects each removed engine to take approximately 360 days to complete a shop visit and return to a serviceable condition.
JetBlue Ventures
JetBlue Technology Ventures, LLC, (‘JetBlue Ventures’ or ‘JBV’) is a wholly owned subsidiary of JetBlue. JBV invests in and partners with early-stage startups with goals of improving the travel, hospitality, and transportation industries.
JetBlue Travel Products
JetBlue Travel Products, LLC (JBTP), a wholly owned JetBlue subsidiary, encompasses the JetBlue Vacations brand, offering integrated travel packages, including hotel, cruise, and non-air travel products like insurance, car rentals, and activities. JBTP aims to enhance JetBlue's vision of inspiring humanity by providing comprehensive travel experiences.
JetBlue Vacations allows customers to combine JetBlue flights with hotels and cruises, offering savings, exclusive benefits like early boarding, free inflight drinks, and flexible payment options.
JBTP also manages Paisly by JetBlue, an a la carte travel website offering deals and TrueBlue benefits on cars, stays, activities, and travel bags.
A key partnership with Allianz Partners USA enables JetBlue customers to safeguard their travel plans with comprehensive travel insurance, covering both flights and vacation packages.
Regulation
Most of the company’s airline operations are regulated by the U.S. governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT); Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Federal regulations, administered by the FAA, manage congestion at three U.S. airports: Ronald Reagan Washington National, LaGuardia, and JFK. Under federal law and DOT regulations, JetBlue must be controlled by the U.S. citizens.
In addition to the federal regulations with which the company must comply, it is also subject to state and local laws and regulations in the states in which the company operates and the regulations of various local authorities operating the airports it serves.
The company is subject to various federal, state and local laws relating to the protection of the environment. This includes the regulation of GHG emissions, the discharge or disposal of materials and chemicals, as well as the regulation of aircraft noise administered by numerous state and federal agencies.
To the extent the company is subject to FCC (Federal Communications Commission) requirements, the company takes all necessary steps to comply with those requirements. Similarly, the company is subject to various market and consumer protection laws and regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’).
The company is a participant in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet Program, which permits the U.S. Department of Defense to utilize the company’s aircraft during national emergencies when the need for military airlift exceeds the capability of military aircraft.
History
JetBlue Airways Corporation was founded in 1998. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1998 and commenced its service in 2000.
