JetBlue Announces Nonstop Flights to Five New Destinations From RDU

Sep. 10--MORRISVILLE -- JetBlue will begin flying daily nonstop to five new destinations from Raleigh-Durham International Airport this fall, including its first flight from RDU to the West Coast. 

Two of the JetBlue flights will go to international vacation destinations -- Cancun, Mexico, and Montego Bay, Jamaica. When those flights begin Nov. 19, they will be the first international service from RDU since the coronavirus pandemic devastated the travel business last spring.

Also on Nov. 19, JetBlue will begin flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Fort Myers, Florida.

Then on Dec. 18, JetBlue will join Delta and American airlines in offering nonstop flights to Los Angeles International Airport.

The new RDU flights are part of a larger expansion JetBlue announced Thursday to "markets with strengthened demand potential." It comes even as demand for air travel remains about 30% of pre-pandemic levels.

"RDU is extremely fortunate to add new destinations at a time when airports continue to lose airline service," Michael Landguth, RDU's president and CEO, said in a written statement. "We are optimistic that passengers will support the new routes by traveling to these warm-weather destinations during the winter months."

JetBlue has previously flown from RDU to Boston, New York and Fort Lauderdale, all on the East Coast. The expansion announced Thursday focuses on warm-weather destinations in Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America as well as transcontinental flights.

"This is the latest example of JetBlue's ability to be nimble and play offense as we quickly adjust to new customer behaviors and booking patterns," Scott Laurence, the carrier's head of revenue and planning, said in a written statement. "This latest series of new routes -- even in the current environment -- advances our revised network strategy, returns more aircraft to the skies and doubles down on our ability to generate more cash sooner."

Other airlines are beginning to resume service curtailed by the pandemic. American Airlines plans to begin daily nonstops to London's Heathrow Airport and Cancun sometime before Christmas, while Delta Air Lines has announced the resumption of nonstop flights to Paris in April.

Delta also plans to resume its nonstop flights to Los Angeles on Oct. 1, while American has told RDU that it will restart its nonstops to LA on Nov. 4.

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