coda623

I think jetBlue does need to expand, especially into the midwest,which they have been pretty much ignoring. Places like Omaha, Minneapolis, Kansas city, OKC, Des Moines, etc would all appreciate some nice low cost air service. Right now, the only airline that comes close to that it Southwest, and frankly, we need some more low cost competition.

belfordrocks

I think Frontier covers most of that too.

CIAO LAX

Also, Jetblue is usually not low cost... its typically cost more than its competitors for people buying tickets in advanced - those looking for bargin basement pricing...

sbm12

That only works when there is sufficient demand for those flights. The goal of an airline isn't to show up and charge less just for fun. They have to still make money doing so. Losing a little bit of money on each passenger but making it up in volume isn't going to be a common business plan anytime soon.
LCC refers to the carrier's operating costs, not what the fares are. JetBlue is still considered an LCC by some since they aren't a legacy carrier but the line is definitely blurring these days, particularly as the costs B6 incurs to operate are approaching those of other legacy carriers.

CIAO LAX

I believe the poster I was referring to refereced low cost competition, meaning low fares... not just low cost structures. All airlines are LCCs now!

coda623

I feel that there is sufficient demand in at least some Midwestern cities. I know in Omaha, the New York route isn't so popular and it's only operated by RJs. But jetBlue could add seasonal service so Florida maybe, because many Nebraskans love to fly down to Florida for the winter to get away from the cold and the snow. I'm sure jetBlue could quickly snatch up some routes from Delta in Minneapolis, since they provide better service and generally lower costs. I think they should fly some of their Embraer E190's into the midwest. it would make a lot of sense to me, even if they just added seasonal service.

sbm12

Seasonal service is almost always a tough sell.

Opening up a new station is quite capital-intensive and there needs to be a rather large demand for service to justify it.

B6 showing up in MSP and trying to cherry-pick a route or two from a DL hub will almost certainly result in DL dumping inventory well below cost until B6 packs up and goes home. It is not a smart move to show up in a market where you're always going to have to compete on price alone. Losing money month after month gets old after a while.

Omaha is #62 in the USA in terms of passenger enplanements. I'm guessing there are a few larger markets that JetBlue is looking at in the USA before that comes up as an option. Plus, OMA actually shrank last year. Not a great situation to be in when you're trying to attract a new entrant.