Just as air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, oil prices are rising due to the continuity of Russia invasion of Ukraine. Experts say rising costs are causing airlines to curb the leisure routes introduced during the pandemic, as long-haul routes that consume more fuel for aircraft are starting to make less financial sense for carriers.
JetBlue will cut or suspend 27 routes this summer, according to Cirium, Simple Flying aviation news media reported for the first time. The airline is cutting two routes permanently: Austin in Cancun and Nashville in Cancun. All other routes, including many to Florida destinations, are scheduled to return in the fall.
The JetBlue route from Boston to Key West, Florida, will temporarily end on May 1st and return on October 30th. Your flight from New York JFK Airport to Key West follows the same schedule.
According to industry experts, cutting these routes makes practical business sense.
“When fuel prices are high, some routes are unprofitable or not worth flying,” said Andrew Didora, a Bank of America airline analyst. “When a little market capacity comes out, the dynamics of supply and demand improve.”
He added that if oil prices remain high, he expects a new “reduction of seats around the margin in non-peak periods”. When consumer demand is strong, airlines will not cut back on rush-hour flights on popular routes, according to Didora.
JetBlue routes suspended
- Boston – Key West
- Fort Lauderdale – Cartagena
- Fort Lauderdale – Chicago (O’Hare)
- Fort Lauderdale – Cleveland
- Fort Lauderdale – Grand Cayman
- Fort Lauderdale – Portland, Oregon
- Fort Lauderdale – Port of Spain
- Fort Lauderdale – Providential
- Fort Lauderdale – Seattle
- Fort Lauderdale – St. Maarten
- Hartford – Las Vegas
- Hartford – San Francisco
- New York (JFK) – Key West
- Los Angeles – Austin
- Los Angeles – Raleigh Durham
- Los Angeles – San Jose
- Los Angeles – West Palm Beach
- Newark – Atlanta
- Newark – Austin
- Newark – Charleston
- Newark – Jacksonville
- Newark – Las Vegas
- Newark – Phoenix
- Newark – Raleigh Durham
- Newark – San Diego
Fewer flights to Cancun, a party place
JetBlue added leisure routes to destinations such as Cancun, Mexico and Fort Lauderdale in Florida during the first phase of the pandemic, when few business trips were made, according to Willis Orlando, a flight specialist at Scott’s Cheap Flights, a website bid tracking.
“They still have more routes than in 2019 and, in general, they’re back where they were. During the pandemic, demand was really concentrated among American passengers toward a warm climate, short-haul destinations like Florida, New Orleans. , Cancun and Costa Rica, “Orlando told CBS MoneyWatch.
These days, passengers are more likely to visit cities in Europe and elsewhere, as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases and pandemic restrictions disappear.
“The demand for these places is declining as people feel more comfortable going to the cities. South Florida. “Orlando added.
JetBlue did not immediately respond to a CBS MoneyWatch comment request.
Permanent staff challenges
Orlando believes fuel costs, as well as persistent staffing issues, take into account schedule adjustments.
“Personnel problems have been a constant drama throughout the pandemic for airlines. We are anticipating a summer as strong or stronger than 2019 in terms of demand and no airline wants to be the one to have a collapse in the middle of “Summer when they cancel. Tons of flights because they can’t get staff in place,” he said.
Air fares have risen this year, according to an Adobe Analytics report, but that has not diminished their appetite for travel. “We’ve already seen increases in February compared to January, and so far consumers have been able to handle the rises because there’s a lot of enthusiasm for travel,” said Vivek Pandya and Adobe analyst.
Airlines need to have knowledge if they want to take advantage of this accumulated demand, he added. “They are optimizing routes and making sure they work with prices so that they can absorb some fuel costs and manage demand so that they can keep up the momentum and have a strong and successful year,” Pandya said. “They’re making decisions about what they can afford and comparing it to consumers’ deep desire to travel.”
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