JetBlue to Sarasota

[clickclickboom]

Starting Sept.. To the local commuters with all airlines welcome aboard

 

[On Your Six]

Starting Sept.. To the local commuters with all airlines welcome aboard

E190s or A320s?

 

[HomerJ]

320, once a day to start...welcome all jumpseaters...

 

[Acefaser]

TUS also.

 

[FDJ2]

Looks like they got a sweet heart deal to lure them in.

JetBlue to start JFK flights from Sarasota-Bradenton

By KATHLEEN MCLAUGHLIN


JetBlue's marketing people have visited a number of times over the last several years, but the folks who came two weeks ago were from the properties department.

Airport chief Fred Piccolo took it as a sign that JetBlue Airways might come to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport soon.

In fact, JetBlue says it will be here Sept. 21, flying a 156-seat plane every day to John F. Kennedy International in New York.

"It's wonderful," Piccolo said Tuesday, about an hour after he heard the news.

Piccolo has been chasing the popular low-fare carrier for years, but he has said that it is impossible to predict when or why an airline will make its move.

That certainly is true in the case of JetBlue.

The airline's decision to add a smaller plane, the 100-seat Embraer 190, to its fleet had given hope to small airports around the country. But when Sarasota-Bradenton's number didn't come up in the first round, Piccolo began to think he would have a better chance in 2007.

As it turns out, Sarasota-Bradenton will benefit from JetBlue's need to contract and return to profitability, rather than the rapid expansion of its early years.

Spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said JetBlue is "tweaking" its network to focus on medium-range flights, 2-1/2 to three hours from New York.

"We like medium-range flights because they use less fuel," Dervin said. "We can more likely cover the cost of the flight and still offer a competitive fare."

JetBlue recorded its first loss, $42.4 million, in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Piccolo's tenure as airport chief executive has been focused on keeping the airport afloat, even as passenger traffic plummeted.

That count shrank by nearly half through the 1990s. Five major carriers pulled out.

All this happened even as the population of Sarasota and Manatee counties grew 23 percent.

Luring AirTran in late 2004 appears to have reversed the slide.

AirTran added flights to Baltimore-Washington International, Indianapolis and Chicago's Midway.

Sarasota-Bradenton's passenger count, which includes people getting on and off all types of planes, reached 1.3 million in 2005.

"When we have our second low-cost carrier, it starts to build that critical mass that you need," Piccolo said.

JetBlue has mentioned the possibility of adding a second flight for the busy winter season, he said.

"We always enter a market with the idea we'll grow it," Dervin said.

The flight leaves Sarasota-Bradenton at 1:15 p.m. and arrives in New York at 4:05 p.m. The return flight leaves New York at 9:30 a.m. and arrives at 12:30 p.m.

JetBlue is offering introductory fares of $79 each way. Tickets must be bought by July 18 and used by Oct. 31.

Sarasota-Bradenton will give JetBlue $200,000 to use for marketing or start-up costs. JetBlue also will qualify for the airport's fee waiver program, which encourages service to new cities.

Piccolo said the airline could rack up $700,000 to $1 million worth of fee waivers, which are based on passenger counts.

AirTran, which was lured by a federal grant and local subsidies, racked up more than $1 million in fee waivers its first year, Piccolo said.

"Certainly they'll stimulate the market, the same as AirTran did," Piccolo said.

JetBlue's announcement comes on the heels of another piece of good news for service-starved travelers.

US Airways recently was awarded a slot at Reagan National Airport and will start flying non-stop Aug. 15.

Virginia Haley, director of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her office is capitalizing on the new service announcements. She recently sent a letter to meeting planners in the Washington, D.C., area, letting them know about the upcoming service.

"That is terrific news," she said of JetBlue's plans.

Although Sarasota already has non-stop service to the New York City area through Newark and LaGuardia, she said people ask about JetBlue, which is known for its leather seats and DirectTV.

Sarasota-Bradenton is the second Florida market to snag JetBlue flights in as many weeks. The airline started flying three non-stop daily flights on June 15 from Jacksonville International Airport to JFK.

 

[HomerJ]

Any guesses on how long it will take for Delta's super sharp management team to put an RJ on the same route?

 

[General Lee]

Any guesses on how long it will take for Delta's super sharp management team to put an RJ on the same route?

We already flew RJs down there (from LGA) and couldn't drum up enough business. We had Saturday 732 service from BOS too, and so did Airtran. All of those flights went bye bye. Good luck.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[jetblue320]

We already flew RJs down there (from LGA) and couldn't drum up enough business. We had Saturday 732 service from BOS too, and so did Airtran. All of those flights went bye bye. Good luck.


Bye Bye--General Lee

Maybe we'll need the luck Ol' Pal, but now that we fly to all three NYC airports? :smash:

How ya been Man? Had to barb ya, ya know.....

C yaaa

 

[newnan]

"We like medium-range flights because they use less fuel," Dervin said. "We can more likely cover the cost of the flight and still offer a competitive fare."

This is one of the problems with aviation. People like this... WE ARE NOT IN BUSINESS TO COVER THE COST OF THE FLIGHT AND STILL OFFER A COMPETITIVE FARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are in business to make a profit while offering a competitive fare. This speaks volumes to Blue's latest financial woes.

 

[General Lee]

Maybe we'll need the luck Ol' Pal, but now that we fly to all three NYC airports? :smash:

How ya been Man? Had to barb ya, ya know.....

C yaaa

I'm doing well. I will probably be upgrading soon. Yeah, I know you go to all 3 NYC airports now. Well, how do you like it? EWR is a nightmare and LGA can be ridiculous as well. Those Song birds that we used to fly in there are now used on routes they should have flown all along. I think that is good. Anyway, I hope you are doing well too. Take care.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Deli Guy]

"We like medium-range flights because they use less fuel," Dervin said. "We can more likely cover the cost of the flight and still offer a competitive fare."

This is one of the problems with aviation. People like this... WE ARE NOT IN BUSINESS TO COVER THE COST OF THE FLIGHT AND STILL OFFER A COMPETITIVE FARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are in business to make a profit while offering a competitive fare. This speaks volumes to Blue's latest financial woes.

"We"????

 

[clickclickboom]

??????

"We like medium-range flights because they use less fuel," Dervin said. "We can more likely cover the cost of the flight and still offer a competitive fare."

This is one of the problems with aviation. People like this... WE ARE NOT IN BUSINESS TO COVER THE COST OF THE FLIGHT AND STILL OFFER A COMPETITIVE FARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are in business to make a profit while offering a competitive fare. This speaks volumes to Blue's latest financial woes.

Am i missing somethin here? Sure seem to make sense to me

Jetblue was making killer money on transcons when fuel was 80 cents per gallon.Now at $2 per gallon We have cut back on transcons but still offer enough flights to service the customers.

Next we add several short haul cities that are profitable and use the excess $$$ to offset any loss on long haul. In the meantime we continue to connect the dots with ne, se, and a soon to be announced midwest city that very well could be a midwest base someday.

 

[newnan]

I'm sorry, it sounds like she is saying that because medium range flights use less fuel, they can more likely cover the cost of the medium range flights and offer a competitive fare. Why not try to make a profit on medium range flights, instead of just covering the costs. I guess you're right, kudos to JB, at least they are trying to cover thier cost's unlike some of the legacies that dumped seats into the market to try and run LCCs out. I 'm sure AT does the same thing, they just don't come out and say it. I don't care what airline it is I was more concerned with that line of thinking coming from mgmt.

PS. "we" Jenny Dervin's word not mine. I assume she was talking about JB in the quote. The second "we" was mine, as in all airline employees that are being asked for give backs to supplement the flying publics travel expenses to keep fares low.

 

[8vATE]

Competitive Fare?

I read "competitive fare" I understand it to mean something that is attractive to the customer AND something that has a profit margin in it for the company.


JetBlue has historically sold a LOT of cheap fares in its first three to four years. The company was making money so they just continued to offer more flights (ie JFK-FLL)...

Now fuel has gone from .83 a gallon to $2.10...

The fares need to go up (and they have) and with the higher fares there ARE LESS customers ... So you are seeing lift come out of some markets and all the airlines are trying to match their capacity in markets to the demand.

I believe JetBlue just got lazy for the first four years or so with the cheap (but profitable back then) fares.

I hope we all see much more "rational" competition in the future.
Especially when the competitors who are playing the CH 11 card have to come back out and play by the rules.

 

[TriStar_drvr]

ATA used to fly to Sarasota from Midway and Indianapolis. Also to St. Pete from Midway, Indy, and briefly from La Guardia too. Best of luck to you guys. Hope it works out better for you than it did for us.