JetBlue has finally announced the details of its long-planned and long-anticipated service to London, but despite earlier announcements, there will be no flights from Boston until sometime next year. The deferral is the result of the airline’s delaying delivery of some of its new A321LR planes that will fly both services.
The first London flight, from New York JFK to Heathrow, will start August 11, leaving New York at 10:10 pm and arriving in London at 10:10 am. That’s an unusually late departure, but offers the advantage of arriving closer to hotel check-in time. The return to New York will leave at 6:10 pm, arriving at JFK at 9:43.
For those who’d rather arrive earlier for meetings or a full day of activity, JetBlue’s next flight will be a 7:50 pm departure from JFK to London Gatwick, arriving at 7:55 am. The return will leave at noon and arrive at JFK at 3:33 pm. That service will start in September.
The delivery delays were part of the airline’s strategies to conserve cash during the 2020 pandemic crash of air traffic, but it is not clear why it has chosen to defer Boston, where it is a dominant carrier rather than splitting service between the two East Coast markets, especially since New York to London is one of the most competitive routes. Perhaps they have their eye on some of the niche left behind by the collapse of Norwegian.
