There was plenty of demand for the Alamo City flights, local airport officials insist.
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JetBlue Airways Corp. is grounding its Alamo City operations. The Long Island-based carrier plans to exit the market, ending nonstop flights to Boston and New York City in late October.
The airline’s planned departure comes roughly three years after JetBlue launched nonstop flights from San Antonio International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport.
“This decision clearly has nothing to do with the performance of JetBlue’s flights from SAT,” says Jesus Saenz, director of airports for the San Antonio Airport System. “Their planes are full and the routes to Boston and New York are performing well, which gives me great confidence other airlines will fill the void in short order.”
JetBlue officials were not available for comment at press time.
San Antonio airport officials worked for years to recruit JetBlue. Local leaders especially coveted the Boston flight as an opportunity to expand the city’s biotech industry and to address one of San Antonio’s largest underserved routes.
Confirmation of JetBlue's decision comes after I reported in recent days that the airline has sought to disuade the U.S. Department of Transportation from approving American Airlines' proposal to secure one of five new round-trip slots made available at Reagan Washington National Airport. The Dallas-based carrier wants to use one of those slots to launch the first nonstop flights from San Antonio to Washington, D.C.
JetBlue pointed to the availability of a nonstop flight from Austin to Washington National as reason to block American's proposal. The airline noted in comments filed with the DOT that “people in San Antonio can drive to Austin for the existing non-stop service to DCA.”
That pushback likely doesn’t sit well with local leaders, especially in light of JetBlue's latest move.
Buoyed by a long string of record passenger counts at SAT and an expanding economy, airport officials expect that other airlines will look to establish a presence in San Antonio or expand operations here. San Antonio's planned $2.5 billion airport expansion could boost that interest.
“We have started conversations with other carriers,” Saenz told me.