US low-cost carrier JetBlue has announced it will fly to both Heathrow and Gatwick when it makes its transatlantic debut.
The airline will enter the US-UK market with nonstop services between New York’s John F. Kennedy international Airport (JFK) and the two London sites.
Heathrow services will begin on August 11, 2021 while the first service to Gatwick will depart on September 29, 2021.
A London service from Boston will start in summer 2022, JetBlue said.
Chief executive Robin Hayes said: “The pandemic has opened doors to London’s two busiest airports, and we look forward to bringing customers low fares and great service at both Heathrow and Gatwick.
“JFK-LHR, the single largest international air travel market from the US, has long suffered from outrageously high fares for far too long, especially in premium cabins.
“We’re ready to change that with a price point and experience that will impress even the most discerning transatlantic flyers. We’ve always said that JetBlue would serve multiple London airports, and we’re pleased to have secured a path at Heathrow and for long-term growth at Gatwick, which offers speed, low costs, and convenient accessibility into central London.”
Flights on both routes will operate daily on JetBlue’s new Airbus A321 Long Range (LR) aircraft, which have the range of a wide body aircraft “with the economics of a single-aisle aircraft”, which JetBlue said will allow it to “effectively compete” in the marketplace.
They will have 24 Mint business class suites, 117 ‘core seats’ and an Airspace cabin interior. Fares on both routes start from $599 return for ‘core’ and $1,979 return for Mint.
An introductory offer for UK-based travellers will see fares of £329 for core and £999 for Mint.
The airline is set to take delivery of three A321LRs in 2021, which are all slated to operate on the JFK routes.
Hayes claims JetBlue “cut in half the cost of premium travel between New York and California” in 2014 and added: “Our low fares will disrupt the pricing of the major carriers and massive joint ventures; JetBlue’s presence in this market is going to be immediately noticeable to customers.”
JFK-Heathrow services will deprt at 10:10pm and arrive at 10:10am the next day. Services from Heathrow to JFK will depart 6:10pm and arrive at 9:43pm eastern US time.
John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow, said: “JetBlue’s touchdown at Heathrow as its first UK base is a ringing endorsement of the value we deliver for our passengers and the country.
“JetBlue is a fantastic airline, renowned for delivering top-quality service at competitive prices. That value for money mantra is also at the heart of what we do at Heathrow, and we’re delighted that we’ll be seeing their characteristic blue tailfins at the airport later this year.”
He added: “In the meantime, ministers should help more people travel safely and boost the economy by moving more low-risk destinations – including the U.S. – to the green list as vaccination rates increase and infections decrease.”
Services from JFK to Gatwick will depart at 7:50pm and arrive at 7:55am the following day. Gatwick-JFK services will depart at 12:00pm and arrive 3:33pm US eastern time.
Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “Being able to offer our customers the low cost, high value experience from JetBlue, with daily flights to New York starting in just a few months, is a welcome addition to the choice of airlines and destinations which Gatwick currently has.
“Equally we look forward to welcoming travelers from the US who are looking for easy, quick access to London, the south of England and beyond. We believe this is a start of an important long-term partnership for us and we look forward adding JetBlue flights to and from Boston next year.”
Speaking to Travel Weekly, Gatwick’s head of airline relations Stephen King said: “It’s exciting for all of us in the industry to have a really respected airline adding a much-anticipated new route.
“They talk about long-term a lot, which is a signal that this is a choice to shake-up the transatlantic market.”
King said that, pre-Covid, Gatwick had been a rise in the amount of business travellers using the airport, but thinks the JetBlue route will attract both leisure and corporate travellers – and stressed the “real asset” Gatwick has for accessing London and the south of England via its train links.
He added that he expects seats on the new routes to get “snapped up”, saying: “The JetBlue brand is really strong in the US and a fair amount of people know them here, and I know they are going to really focus on getting the word out.”
King also talked down the prospect of a long-term hit to business travel, predicted by some industry commentators, and believes people will continue to travel for work en masse as the world continues to bring the pandemic under control.
“I certainly find that there are many conversations that aren’t as good quality over Teams or Zoom, and really need to be face-to-face. I can’t wait to get back travelling and meeting airlines around the world.”