JetBlue gets OK for flights from O'Hare
By Robert Manor
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 17, 2006
JetBlue Airways, the low-fare airline with a TV screen for every passenger, has won a toehold in Chicago.
The New York-based airline said Monday that the Federal Aviation Administration has granted it four daily flights from O'Hare International Airport.
JetBlue has for years sought to serve Chicago, preferring O'Hare to Midway Airport because of its location near growing north and west suburbs and the absence of low-cost competitor Southwest Airlines.
"JetBlue does not currently have any service to Chicago, so this will be a totally new market for us," said spokesman Bryan Baldwin.
He said much remains to be determined on how it will use its Chicago flights.
"We haven't announced anything specific: When we will start flying, where we will start flying," said Baldwin. "We have until the end of January to start flying."
JetBlue originally had sought permission for eight daily flights in the market.
United Airlines had opposed JetBlue's application to serve O'Hare. The airport is under flight restrictions to curtail delays, but new airlines are permitted to start service there with FAA approval.
"We welcome the competition," said United spokeswoman Jean Medina.
JetBlue won't pose much competition for business travelers, said airline industry analyst and consultant Robert Mann. Those travelers prefer the hourly flights of American Airlines and United.
"Where they will do a good job is with independent business people who tend to travel as if it is their own money they are spending," Mann said. "They will also do well with the leisure travelers. The inflight television is quite attractive."
The airline must negotiate a lease with the City of Chicago for space at O'Hare. Space may be available at Terminal 2, as America West has told officials it doesn't need its gates since it has merged with US Airways.
No one could be reached late Monday at the Chicago Department of Aviation. But the city has said in the past that it is willing to work with JetBlue to find space at O'Hare.
Founded in 2000, JetBlue has been a hit by offering low prices, just one class of service and amenities like a personal TV screen at every seat.
The airline flies 95 Airbus A320s, which seat 156 passengers, and 21 Embraer 190s, which seat 100.
Like Southwest, JetBlue flies point-to-point, non-stop routes and does not utilize a hub system like American and United. Those two airlines are by far the biggest at O'Hare, together offering about 88 percent of all flights.
But JetBlue has become the largest carrier at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York by offering flights up and down the East Coast and to 14 cities in the West.
The closest the airline currently comes to Chicago is Columbus, Ohio, and otherwise serves none of the upper Midwest.
By Robert Manor
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 17, 2006
JetBlue Airways, the low-fare airline with a TV screen for every passenger, has won a toehold in Chicago.
The New York-based airline said Monday that the Federal Aviation Administration has granted it four daily flights from O'Hare International Airport.
JetBlue has for years sought to serve Chicago, preferring O'Hare to Midway Airport because of its location near growing north and west suburbs and the absence of low-cost competitor Southwest Airlines.
"JetBlue does not currently have any service to Chicago, so this will be a totally new market for us," said spokesman Bryan Baldwin.
He said much remains to be determined on how it will use its Chicago flights.
"We haven't announced anything specific: When we will start flying, where we will start flying," said Baldwin. "We have until the end of January to start flying."
JetBlue originally had sought permission for eight daily flights in the market.
United Airlines had opposed JetBlue's application to serve O'Hare. The airport is under flight restrictions to curtail delays, but new airlines are permitted to start service there with FAA approval.
"We welcome the competition," said United spokeswoman Jean Medina.
JetBlue won't pose much competition for business travelers, said airline industry analyst and consultant Robert Mann. Those travelers prefer the hourly flights of American Airlines and United.
"Where they will do a good job is with independent business people who tend to travel as if it is their own money they are spending," Mann said. "They will also do well with the leisure travelers. The inflight television is quite attractive."
The airline must negotiate a lease with the City of Chicago for space at O'Hare. Space may be available at Terminal 2, as America West has told officials it doesn't need its gates since it has merged with US Airways.
No one could be reached late Monday at the Chicago Department of Aviation. But the city has said in the past that it is willing to work with JetBlue to find space at O'Hare.
Founded in 2000, JetBlue has been a hit by offering low prices, just one class of service and amenities like a personal TV screen at every seat.
The airline flies 95 Airbus A320s, which seat 156 passengers, and 21 Embraer 190s, which seat 100.
Like Southwest, JetBlue flies point-to-point, non-stop routes and does not utilize a hub system like American and United. Those two airlines are by far the biggest at O'Hare, together offering about 88 percent of all flights.
But JetBlue has become the largest carrier at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York by offering flights up and down the East Coast and to 14 cities in the West.
The closest the airline currently comes to Chicago is Columbus, Ohio, and otherwise serves none of the upper Midwest.
