Recently, American Airlines and JetBlue, normally rival carriers, announced a strong relationship within the Northeast, allowing each airline to offer codeshare flights, elite benefits, and reciprocal mileage redemptions, among many perks.
With the Northeast Alliance (NEA) in full swing, both carriers are adding new routes to their maps, allowing travelers to experience even more connectivity.
First JetBlue Flights to Canada
Starting June 2022, JetBlue will begin flying to Vancouver (YVR), the first route the airline will offer to Canada. The New York (JFK) to Vancouver (YVR) route is scheduled for 6 hours 31 minutes and the Boston (BOS) to Vancouver (YVR) route is scheduled at 6 hours 23 minutes.
- Depart New York 7:04 p.m. — Arrive Vancouver 10:35 p.m.
- Depart Vancouver 11:46 p.m. — Arrive New York 8 a.m. (+1)
- Depart Boston 5:40 p.m. — Arrive Vancouver 9:03 p.m.
- Depart Vancouver 10:13 p.m. — Arrive Boston 6:28 a.m. (+1)
New and Expanded Routes
JetBlue Expands Routes From New York (JFK)
JetBlue is expanding big at New York’s JFK. We’ll see these routes increase in frequencies:
| City | Frequencies per Day | City | Frequencies per Day |
| Aruba (AUA) | 4 | Minneapolis (MSP) | 2 |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 4 | Montego Bay (MBJ) | 4 |
| Cancún (CUN) | 4 | Raleigh-Durham (RDU) | 3 |
| Detroit (DTW) | 2 | St. Lucia (UVF) | 2 |
| Guayaquil (GYE) | 2 | Turks and Caicos (PLS) | 2 |
| Kingston (KIN) | 5 | | |
JetBlue and American Offer New and Expanded Routes From New York (LGA)
At nearby LaGuardia, JetBlue is also expanding big. It has recently announced a new route to Portland (PWM) in Maine (lobster, anyone?), and the following routes will see additional frequencies:
| City | Frequencies per Day | City | Frequencies per Day |
| Boston (BOS) | 15 (replacing American, who has pulled this route) | New Orleans (MSY) | 2 |
| Charleston (CHS) | 3 | Orlando (MCO) | 5 |
| Jacksonville (JAX) | 3 | Savannah (SAV) | 2 |
| Nashville (BNA) | 3 | Tampa (TPA) | 3 |
American has also added new routes from LGA to Houston (IAH), Kansas City (KCI), Oklahoma City (OKC), and Omaha (OMA).
JetBlue and American Offer New and Expanded Routes From Boston (BOS)
Boston (BOS) is the other major Northeast airport seeing love with this expansion.
From American, we’ll see Louisville (SDF) and Memphis (MEM) increase to daily service, as well as the addition of service to Halifax (YHZ), Pensacola (PNS), and Traverse City (TVC).
JetBlue will also now offer flights to Asheville (AVL).
JetBlue Expands Routes From Baltimore (BWI) and Washington, D.C. (DCA)
JetBlue is adding a staggering 16 daily flights from Washington, D.C. (DCA) and 5 daily flights from nearby Baltimore (BWI) to Boston (BOS).
There is no mention of American Airlines pulling out of Washington, D.C. (DCA) to Boston (BOS), but with 16 daily frequencies on JetBlue, one has to wonder if there’s a high enough demand to support 2 airlines offering similar departures.
Why the Expansion?
Image Credit: JetBlueWe’re starting to see each airline offer additional routes and cede routes to the other airline in an attempt to better connect passengers and offer a more robust schedule. The goal is for JetBlue customers to want to connect onward onto an American long-haul flight, and for an American flyer to be able to fly JetBlue on some routes, freeing up the aircraft that would normally fly that route to be able to fly somewhere else with more demand, or a new city.
Final Thoughts
Each airline is certainly adding a lot of additional routes, though it’s disappointing to see American turn over some of these routes entirely to JetBlue, such as New York (LGA) – Boston (BOS) or New York (LGA) – Orlando (MCO).
American frequent flyers will miss larger planes with premium cabins and inflight dining, a certain downgrade from the single-class aircraft that JetBlue operates.
Featured Image Credit:
JetBlue
