Mar. 27—Allen King and Michael Romanelli waited eagerly, plane tickets in hand, to board JetBlue's first flight from Kansas City to New York City Sunday morning.
Their itinerary for the day? A one hour layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport — complete with a stop at an airport lounge or two — before hopping on a plane back to Kansas City.
Self-proclaimed "aviation geeks," Romanelli, 32, a doctor at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and King, 28, a CPA, were among a group of people at KCI eagerly awaiting JetBlue's inaugural flights to and from Kansas City.
JetBlue launched at KCI on Sunday with daily, non-stop flights from Kansas City to Boston and NYC, making Kansas City JetBlue's 109th destination so far.
"We just love planes," Romanelli said, adding that after a difficult two years for the airline industry, the frequent fliers decided to join in on Sunday's festivities.
At about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, following a ribbon cutting, an abundance of photos and the cutting of a multi-tiered cake, they boarded the same plane that Eric Shito, 30, of Boston, stepped off two hours earlier when the inaugural flight arrived from Boston Logan International Airport.
Shito, who has been on about a dozen inaugural JetBlue flights, but has never been to Kansas City, said the real draw was the flight itself, which includes free drinks and snacks, free entertainment and free high-speed Wi-Fi for the entire flight.
The inaugural flight also included in-flight games, said Shito, who won tickets to the World War I Museum before touching down.
City Manager Brian Platte at a news conference Sunday said he hopes the addition of JetBlue to KCI helps Kansas Citians connect to more people and more places around the country.
Kathleen Changho, a flight attendant for JetBlue who lived in Kansas City until she was 13, has been hoping for that Kansas City connection since she started working for the airline a decade ago.
"I've been waiting for the opportunity to trade lobsters for barbecue," said Changho, who now lives in Boston.
Before the pandemic began, NYC was the third most popular destination for those flying out of KC, with almost 700 fliers to and from, each day, according to airport officials. At the same time, Boston was becoming an increasingly popular place for Kansas Citians to land, with more than 250 travelers every day.
"It's not often we hear the public outcry for a specific airline, but for decades, Kansas City has been asking for JetBlue to come into this market," Justin Meyer, deputy director of aviation, told those gathered in the JetBlue terminal Sunday.
JetBlue is the first new airline to begin service from KCI since 2018, when IcelandAir launched a nonstop flight from Kansas City to Iceland which lasted until 2019.
"As a person who averages out 1,800 air miles a week, I am thrilled to see JetBlue in this community," Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II said, before suggesting with a smile that they might also expand to D.C., where he works.
Many also gave nod to the expansion being another step on the path toward vastly growing KCI in the coming years.
Construction on KCI's new airport terminal, which began three years ago this month, is now 80% complete. The new terminal, which will include local art displays and nearly 50 local and global eating and shopping experiences, is set to open in March 2023.
For now, one way flights from Kansas City to New York start at $79 and one-way flights to Boston start at $54 through April.
"Many know and love this destination for its world-famous barbecue, sultry jazz, world champion sports and romantic fountains, all of which can be experienced throughout the metro area, in addition to its trademark Midwestern hospitality," Joseph King, Director of Fleet Strategy and Programs at JetBlue told media on Sunday. "We look forward to introducing the heart of America to our Northeast customers."
This story was originally published March 27, 2022 1:55 PM.
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