JetBlue Looks to Suspend Chicago Flights Temporarily as Demand Plummets Amid COVID-19
JetBlue asked the U.S. Transportation Department for permission to suspend flights to 16 airports, including O’Hare International Airport, amid “near-zero demand for air travel.”
The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on travel meant to contain it have brought passenger travel to a near-standstill. Still, airlines that took financial assistance from the federal government need to maintain minimum levels of service to cities where they currently fly unless the Transportation Department grants an exemption.
Earlier this month, JetBlue said it expects to receive about $935.8 million in grants and loans through the federal coronavirus relief package.
JetBlue has already gone from six flights a day to four per week in Chicago, the airline said in its request with the Transportation Department on Tuesday.
There still aren’t enough people on its flights connecting Chicago to Boston, New York and Fort Lauderdale to make them sustainable, JetBlue said. Load factors, or the percentage of seats sold, have averaged below 10% so far in April. Last Wednesday, a flight from Boston to Chicago had five passengers. On the way back, it had eight, the airline said.
JetBlue asked for permission to suspend flights at all 16 airports through Sept. 30. The airline said it intends to gradually resume service “as soon as it is both safe to do so and when even the slightest customer demand re-emerges.”
The airline has not received a response to its request. Earlier this month, the Transportation Department granted JetBlue’s request to suspend service to two airports in Puerto Rico but said it needed to continue serving nine other U.S. airports where the airline asked to halt flights.
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