The Covid pandemic will not stop JetBlue from running its first transatlantic flights from this week.
The US budget carrier’s first aircraft from New York is due to touch down at Heathrow on Thursday morning.
Flights to Gatwick start on September 29.
Fares on the airline’s website in August start at £232 one-way, rising to £533.
Both routes will run daily using new single-aisle Airbus A321LR aircraft with 24 Mint suites and 114 economy seats.
Flights from Boston are due to be added in summer 2022.
Chief executive Robin Hayes told the BBC there was “strong demand” for the London route in the US where JetBlue had returned to 2019 levels.
He said JetBlue wanted to have “a disruptive and permanent effect” on the market.
US-based travellers can travel to the UK without having to quarantine if they are fully vaccinated but there is still a travel ban on people from the UK flying to the US.
The White House said last month that it did not intend to lift Covid-9 travel curbs this summer despite pleas from the travel industry
Hayes said JetBlue had made its views clear about the restrictions and that the current approach was “not risk-based”.
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