Nov. 21--South Floridians now have another option for getting to Peru, home of the llama and the 15th century Inca site Machu Picchu.
On Thursday Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and JetBlue Airways officials will celebrate the carrier's new daily nonstop service to Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport.
Inaugural festivities are slated for 11 a.m. at Gate 9 in Concourse F in Terminal 3, an airport official said. Flight 1825, operated with Airbus A320 aircraft, is scheduled to depart for Lima at noon.
"Daily Lima service by our largest air carrier is a great opportunity for Broward County and demonstrates JetBlue's commitment to continued growth at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International," airport spokesman Greg Meyer said.
New York-based JetBlue accounts for 18.9 percent of passenger traffic this year through September and more than 70 departures on peak days to 26 nonstop cities, according to airport data. It's the airport's second carrier to offer regularly scheduled service to Lima.
Spirit Airlines -- the airport's No. 2 carrier with 18 percent of passenger traffic -- has offered once weekly service since June 2007, airport officials said.
The new Lima flight will cater to an estimated 25,000 Peruvians residing in the county, as well as Peruvians back home looking to vacation in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area, Meyer said.
Thursday's inaugural follows on the heels of several other routes JetBlue has launched this year from Fort Lauderdale, including service to Worcester, Mass., (Nov. 7) and to San Jose, Costa Rica and Medellin, Colombia in June.
"For JetBlue, it's no longer just about shuttling travelers between New York and Fort Lauderdale," said Scott Laurence, JetBlue's vice president of network planning. "Today we're flying from Fort Lauderdale to places like Colombia, Costa Rica, and now Peru, and working towards 100 departures per day."
Next month, JetBlue is set to begin service from Fort Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince, Haiti and in May to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Fares to Port of Spain are now available for purchase through Saturday from $144 one-way for travel between May 1 and June 19.
"People have responded so well to our service that you'll certainly see us announcing even more destinations from South Florida in 2014, Laurence said.
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