Which London Airport Will JetBlue Fly To

This summer will be the year that JetBlue finally make the jump across the Atlantic and fly to the UK. The only remaining question is which London Airport they will fly to. That question has now been narrowed down to two, Heathrow and Gatwick, but we are unlikely to know which one for sure until they announce the sale of the tickets officially, something that presumably will not happen until after 12th April when the UK Government officially announces their intentions for foreign travel in the foreseeable future. However we do already know quite a lot through a variety of sources, all of which I want to try and clump together here. 



What we know for sure

We know for certain that JetBlue will start flying to London this summer, this is something they have said on multiple occasions. We also know that JetBlue will use that A321LR to fly to London, the first of which has already been delivered to the airline. We also know that this aircraft will feature their new Mint seats, which they have already shown off, see here. 


Heathrow

We know that JetBlue have obtained slots for this summer at Heathrow. From 2nd August they have slots to fly daily to JFK, arriving at Heathrow at 10:10 and departing 18:10. From 16th September they also have slots to fly to Heathrow from Boston, arriving at 10:05 and departing at 18:00. Both these routes would fly out of Terminal 2. These routes have been loaded into the Heathrow Terminal finder for a few weeks now, along with a number of other unannounced routes from airlines that have also obtained slots for this summer, but crucially do not appear in the Timetables section on the same website. A few weeks ago London Heathrow also appeared on the Jet Blue website as a served destination, not as a partnered destination, in multiple locations however since then it has been removed from the website entirely as a destination. 

 


Gatwick

JetBlue have also obtained slots to serve Gatwick for this summer. From 2nd August they have slots to serve JFK daily, arriving between 7 and 9 am and departing between 11 and 1 o'clock. From 16th September they also have slots to serve Boston, arriving similar times to the JFK flights but departing later, between 2 and 3 o'clock. At Gatwick they will serve the North Terminal. London Gatwick has also been removed from the JetBlue website entirely, but never appeared on it as a served destination.



Which is more likely 

The easy answer is to say that Heathrow is the more likely destination. It is generally seen as the number 1 destination in London and is the place to be if you want to serve London in a premium capacity. The problem is that Heathrow currently is about as unattractive for JetBlue as it possibly could be. Firstly the timings of the slots isn't great, with the JetBlue plane sat on the tarmac in London for 8 hours. Parking planes at Heathrow isn't cheap, as well as the fact that having this plane away from the States limits the opportunities for it to double up on American sectors, although during the current slump in passenger demand that might not be as big an issue. Secondly is the fact that JetBlue would have no claim on these slots in future years, with them being passed back to their original owner next year. This is a problem for an airline trying to build up its UK presence, as inconsistency in initial service could harm their reputation in the UK for years to come. Ways around this include hoping that they are allocated slots for next year, or alternatively buying slots off another carrier. Trying to be allocated slots is generally a lottery with demand far outstripping supply, which means this is a process that cannot be relied upon. On the other hand, buying slots is extremely expensive, with slots at LHR consistently going for prices in the tens of millions, which could very easily rack up excessive costs for JetBlue in future years as they try and add additional frequencies and destinations to their UK operations. In comparison, Gatwick is a far easier airport to get slots for. 

So where do I think they will end up flying to. Honestly I'd say Gatwick for this summer and the coming years. While JetBlue have stated their intention to fly to multiple London airports in the future, Gatwick initially will be a much cheaper and stable base, something an airline trying transatlantic flights for the first time needs. Indeed look at WestJet as a comparison of an airline who flew their first trans-atlantic flight into Gatwick, and now has a significant presence there, as well as at other European airports. While Heathrow might be more attractive initially, Gatwick offers more medium term security and opportunity, which is something vitally important in a market that is expected to grow in the coming years. 

On the other hand though, this JetBlue tweet might have inadvertently announced their plans already.  


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