JetBlue Adds Fort Lauderdale, Troubled Times Continue for Spirit, and More Airline News

Updated: November 18, 2025, 12:34pm CST

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Table of Contents

JetBlue Will Fly to Destin, Florida, for the First Time Next Spring
Breeze Adds Routes to Fort Lauderdale and Cuts Routes in the Pacific Northwest
More Turbulent Times Ahead for Spirit
Avelo Cuts Most of Its International Routes
Qantas’ New Economy Plus Seating
Air Canada Adds Fourth Grab-and-Go Lounge
Final Thoughts

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Welcome back to another weekly roundup of airline news.

We’ve got lots of route-related updates, as Avelo, Breeze, JetBlue, and Spirit have all made changes to the route networks. Elsewhere, we take a look at Qantas’ new Economy Plus seating that will launch next year and a new Air Canada lounge in Vancouver (YVR).

Let’s get started.

JetBlue Will Fly to Destin, Florida, for the First Time Next Spring

Destin-Fort Walton Beach (VPS) in the Florida Panhandle is the latest airport to join JetBlue‘s route network, starting next year.

The carrier will launch new 5x weekly nonstop services to VPS from Boston (BOS) and New York (JFK) on March 5, 2026.

JetBlue new routes to Destin — Destin joins the JetBlue network on March 5, 2026. Image Credit: Great Circle Mapper

JetBlue will be the only airline to offer nonstop flights between JFK and Destin. While travelers between Destin and the New York area also have the option of flying Allegiant to Newark (EWR), JetBlue offers passengers an all-around better experience.

JetBlue will also compete with Allegiant on its new Destin-to-Boston route.

Florida continues to be a focus region for JetBlue, which will fly to a total of 11 airports in the state with the addition of Destin.

In celebration of the new routes, tickets for JetBlue’s new Destin routes are on sale now starting at just $49 one-way via the airline’s website.

Hot Tip:

If you’re a frequent JetBlue flyer, then you might want to consider opening a JetBlue credit card to enjoy a host of perks and benefits when flying the airline.

Breeze Adds Routes to Fort Lauderdale and Cuts Routes in the Pacific Northwest

It’s all about getting priorities in order for Breeze Airways as it starts 2 new routes to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) but cancels 3 flights in the Pacific Northwest.

With its new flights to Fort Lauderdale from Akron-Canton, Ohio (CAK) and Wilmington, North Carolina (ILM), the Florida airport became a new addition to Breeze’s route network.

Flights started this week and will operate up to 4x weekly throughout the winter season until May 2026.

Breeze Economy Family Image Credit Chris Hassan 11 — Breeze’s Airbus A220s have modern interiors and comfy seats. Image Credit: Chris Hassan

The routes to Fort Lauderdale from Akron and Wilmington are part of Breeze’s signature BreezeThru routes. Passengers starting their journey in Akron will first fly to Wilmington where they’ll have 40 minutes on the ground before continuing to Fort Lauderdale. The total journey time for passengers departing from Akron is over 4 hours — around 1 hour and 30 minutes longer than Allegiant’s nonstop service from Akron to Fort Lauderdale.

Over on the West Coast, Breeze has canceled 3 routes from Burbank (BUR) to Eugene, Oregon (EUG); Pasco, Washington (PSC); and Spokane, Washington (GEG). The routes were scheduled to begin in January 2026, but were likely withdrawn because of Alaska Airlines‘ domination in the region.

More Turbulent Times Ahead for Spirit

Spirit has been in trouble for a while now and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in August this year.

Hopes that an airline-saving merger with JetBlue were dashed after the planned acquisition by the New York-based carrier was deemed as anticompetitive.

The ultra-low-cost carrier is now doing all it can to survive, including cutting around 150 salaried jobs and pulling out of 5 airports. The struggling airline is set to make $804 million in losses this year.

Spirit Airlines at Guatemala City Airport — The seatbelt signs are still on for Spirit. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

As of January, Spirit will no longer flight to Bucamaragna, Colombia (BGA); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE); Phoenix, Arizona (PHX); Rochester, New York (ROC), and St. Louis, Missouri (STL).

It also emerged this week that Spirit employees, including at the executive level, have agreed to a pay cut to ease the airline’s financial burden.

Only time will tell if these drastic measures will be enough to save the airline from disappearning altogether.

Avelo Cuts Most of Its International Routes

Low-cost carrier Avelo has been known for its bold expansion since it launched back in April 2021. The most notable was last year in 2024 when it announced its first-ever international flights.

Sadly, of the 6 international routes Avelo currently operates, 4 will come to an end in January next year. This is primarily linked with the airline completely ceasing operations at its current base at Hartford Airport (BDL) in Connecticut, where 3 of its international routes to Cancun (CUN), Montego Bay (MBJ), and Punta Cana (PUJ) originate.

Avelo 737 700 HVN Landing — Only 2 of Avelo’s international routes will remain as of January 2026. Image Credit: Alberto Riva

Even though Avelo is the only airline to operate these international routes from Hartford, the demand clearly wasn’t strong enough to make the routes profitable for the airline.

In addition to those 3 routes, Avelo will also cancel its nonstop service from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to Montego Bay. American Airlines and Breeze Airways both operate a seasonal service, once or twice a week, from RDU to Montego Bay.

All 4 of the suspended routes will come to an end in January.

Qantas’ New Economy Plus Seating

Flying in economy with Australia’s flag carrier will look a little different from February 2026.

Qantas is introducing new Economy Plus seating to the economy cabins on its new Airbus A321XLRs, Airbus A220s, and Boeing 737s.

Qantas Economy Plus — Economy Plus seats on a Qantas Airbus A220. Image Credit: Qantas

Similar to what the Big 3 carriers in the U.S. offer, Qantas will charge passengers a premium to enjoy up to 10 extra inches of legroom, priority boarding, and reserved space in the overhead bins.

In other Qantas news this week, the carrier released an update on its lounge refurbishment project, including the Oneworld lounge its eligible passengers can use at LAX.

Air Canada Adds Fourth Grab-and-Go Lounge

Air Canada is fully embracing the grab-and-go lounge trend with the opening of its newest lounge at Vancouver International (YVR): the Petit Café.

In the airport’s domestic terminal between gates C46 and C47, the relatively small space can welcome up to 52 guests at any one time.

If you’re transiting in Vancouver from the U.S. to elsewhere in Canada or starting a domestic flight from the airport, the new space looks like a lovely spot to spend some time preflight.

Air Canada Petit Cafe Vancouver — Inside Air Canada’s new Petit Café Lounge at Vancouver International. Image Credit: Air Canada

Final Thoughts

Airlines are constantly analyzing the profitability of their routes to decide whether they’re worth keeping. Sadly, some routes for Avelo, Breeze, and Spirit haven’t made the cut. As for JetBlue, the airline continues to find new ways to connect its beloved northeastern passengers to new destinations both in the U.S. and internationally.

As for Qantas’ new Economy Premium seating and Air Canada’s new Vancouver lounge, we hope to try them out for ourselves soon so we can tell you about them in more detail.