JetBlue.com Just Got a Lot Bigger; Partner Airline Flights Now Available

April 19, 2011
JetBlue.com Just Got a Lot Bigger; Partner Airline Flights Now Available

-- Travel including interline partners Aer Lingus and American Airlines, and expanded access to Cape Air's network in the Northeast and the Caribbean is now available for purchase on jetblue.com --

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) is making it even easier to travel on its interline partners with today's announcement that tickets that include travel on Aer Lingus (LSE:AERL), American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) and Cape Air are now available for sale on jetblue.com. Aer Lingus and American Airlines tickets that include travel on JetBlue are already available on aerlingus.com and aa.com.

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"Our growing presence in New York, Boston, and San Juan has positioned us to take advantage of important partnership opportunities," said Robin Hayes, JetBlue's Chief Commercial Officer. "This ability leverages our jetblue.com platform to drive even more benefit from our interline partnerships, while adding tremendous advantages to our customer, with more options and flexibility."

For years, JetBlue's website has made it easy for customers to book travel anywhere within the JetBlue network in just a few clicks. With this website enhancement, JetBlue is expanding the geographic reach of the site, allowing customers to book travel from within the JetBlue network to new international markets in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean – still with just a few easy clicks (a).

Aer Lingus

"Today's announcement marks the continued development of Aer Lingus' partnership with JetBlue, with a focus on providing customers with increased options from more U.S. markets to Ireland and other European destinations," said Jack Foley,  Aer Lingus' Executive Vice President, North America. "Moreover, it reaffirms Aer Lingus' commitment to providing low fares access for customers from new markets across the U.S."  

Now both jetblue.com and aerlingus.com, successful partners since 2008, offer customers the option to purchase tickets that include space on both carriers. Customers can fly from points within the JetBlue network to Boston or JFK, connect to Aer Lingus' transatlantic service to Ireland, and then to over a dozen destinations across Europe.

American Airlines

"Our successful partnership with JetBlue has given our customers more travel options and has allowed us to grow in new markets," said Virasb Vahidi, American's Chief Commercial Officer. "With this new milestone of selling our tickets on each other's website, our customers will benefit more from the strong networks of both airlines."

Now, an American customer can buy AA tickets at jetblue.com, and a JetBlue customer can purchase JetBlue tickets at aa.com – giving customers of both carriers new sales channels from which to purchase tickets. The two carriers launched their partnership in March 2010 with an enhanced interline agreement, slot exchange and employee travel program. To date, the carriers have added new interline routes, instituted benefits to members of both carriers' frequent flier programs and, with today's announcement, allow customers to buy tickets on each others websites. To learn more about this partnership, go to: http://www.jetblue.com/flying-on-jetblue/airline-partners/american-airlines.asp.

Bookings are available to and from any of the 26 domestic JetBlue cities, and the 15 international American Airlines cities that are included in the carriers' interline agreement. Furthermore, TrueBlue members are now able to rack up points on American's flights between New York's Kennedy Airport and Barcelona, Spain; Brussels, Belgium; Buenos Aires, Argentina; London, England; Madrid, Spain; Manchester, England; Milan, Italy; Paris, France; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Rome, Italy; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Tokyo (Narita), Japan; Tokyo (Haneda), Japan; and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as American's new non-stop service to Budapest, Hungary. Customers flying or connecting through Boston can also earn points when flying to London, England and Paris, France.  

Cape Air

"The timing is perfect," said Cape Air President Dave Bushy. "As our busy summer season approaches on Cape Cod and the Islands, as well as the Caribbean and Florida, the ease of booking the entire trip on-line, with direct baggage transfers, is a huge convenience for our passengers."

Cape Air was JetBlue's first airline partner dating back to 2007 when JetBlue began to market and sell Cape Air flights between Boston and Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Provincetown, Hyannis and Rutland, Vermont under a codeshare agreement.  Today's announcement of the interline capabilities of jetblue.com will provide customers with access to an expanded list of destinations in Cape Air's Northeast U.S. network, as well as to its Caribbean network via San Juan, P.R. and to Key West, Florida via Fort Myers.  

Other Interline Partners

JetBlue has interline agreements in place with six other airlines: EL AL Israel Airlines, Emirates, LAN Airlines, Lufthansa, South African Airways, and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Although customers cannot yet use jetblue.com to book tickets that include space on those airlines, it expects to add more partners to the website over the coming year.  

About Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus, Ireland's Airline, primarily provides passenger transportation services. Founded by the Irish Government in 1936, Aer Lingus will celebrate its 75th anniversary on 27th May 2011. Aer Lingus operates a two-class service on its long-haul network, comprising services from Boston, Chicago, New York and Orlando to Dublin and

Shannon, Ireland. The Company operates a single economy class service on its short-haul network, comprising services from Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Belfast and Gatwick to destinations in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Aer Lingus also provides cargo transportation services on its passenger aircraft, primarily on its long-haul routes, as well as a range of ancillary services to its passengers. Aer Lingus operates a fleet of A320, A321 and A330 aircraft. Aer Lingus' business model is focused on friendly service, value on airfares and land inclusive packages, effective fleet utilization and developing the Aer Lingus brand. Consistent with this model, Aer Lingus' primary distribution channel is its website aerlingus.com. In 2010, approximately 81% of total passenger revenue was generated through aerlingus.com.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection(R) serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning Web site, AA.com(R), provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld(R) Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve nearly 700 destinations in more than 130 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)

About Cape Air

Now in its 21st year, Cape Air is one of the largest independent regional airlines in the United States annually flying over 610,000 passengers to destinations around the world including New England, New York, the Caribbean, and Florida, the mid-Atlantic, the mid west and Micronesia. With a fleet of sixty-for Cessna 402s and two ATR-42s, the employee owned company operates up to 600 flights a day. Based in Hyannis,

Massachusetts, Cape Air also operates flights under the Nantucket Airlines brand. Cape Air is a codeshare partner with Continental Airlines in the Caribbean and Micronesia, with JetBlue Airways in New England and American Airlines in the Midwest. In addition, Cape Air has ticket and baggage agreements with most major airlines. Cape Air's unique brand of customer service, MOCHA HAGoTDI,* has earned the airline accolades as 'Best Airline' on Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and in the United States Virgin Islands. The airline has been recognized for outstanding philanthropy in the communities it serves and Cape Air President Dan Wolf was recipient of the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year™ Award.

* Make our Customers Happy and Have a Good Time Doing It

About JetBlue Airways

New York-based JetBlue Airways has created a new airline category based on value, service and style. In 2010, the carrier ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Low-Cost Carriers in North America" by J.D. Power and Associates, a customer satisfaction recognition received for the sixth year in a row. Known for its award-winning service and free TV as much as its low fares, JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline (based on average fleet-wide seat pitch) and super-spacious Even More Legroom seats. JetBlue is also America's first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful and specific compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue's control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 64 cities with more than 700 daily flights. Later this year JetBlue plans to introduce service to Anchorage, Alaska, and Martha's Vineyard, Mass. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information call +1 800 538 2583 from the U.S.A., TTY/TDD +1 800 336 5530, or visit www.jetblue.com.

(a) All bookings promise seamless travel to customers, with benefits such as through check-in and bags that can be checked to their final destination, regardless of the partner. All sales made on  jetblue.com are done on an interline basis, not as codeshares.

SOURCE JetBlue Airways