JetBlue has expanded its Fort Lauderdale airport schedule to help fill the gap left in the wake of Spirit Airlines’ shutdown after more than three decades in operation.
Early Saturday morning, the discount airline ceased operations immediately and canceled all flights, leaving passengers stranded and most its 17,000 direct and indirect employees without jobs.
JetBlue’s expansion includes 11 new destinations from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and more flights on existing routes. The airline expects to run nearly 130 daily departures from FLL this summer, which is “the largest operation in the airline’s history from the airport,” according to a news release issued Monday.
Six new cities will have non-stop service to Fort Lauderdale beginning as soon as July and others later this year: Baltimore; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; and Barranquilla and Cali in Colombia.
Five existing JetBlue cities will offer new non-stop service to FLL starting July 9: Nashville, Tenn.; Detroit; Houston; Chicago; and Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Spirit workers scramble for new jobs as grounded airline asks court to approve wind-down plan
More daily flights also will be available on current high-demand routes from Fort Lauderdale, including to Austin; Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; Dallas/Fort Worth; Raleigh-Durham; Santo Domingo and Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
The company will also offer new non-stop service from San Juan to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, beginning on Nov. 2.
In addition to the expanded routes, JetBlue for a limited time is allowing Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Silver and Gold members to request a “status match” with JetBlue’s TrueBlue Mosaic loyalty program in order to receive benefits.
Through Wednesday, JetBlue is offering customers with proof of a valid Spirit itinerary $99 “rescue fares” for the same travel route. Customers can call 1-800-JETBLUE.
JetBlue is also capping all Blue Basic fares at $299 on non-stop routes to and from FLL and San Juan, Puerto Rico, that Spirit also operated in April. The cap will apply to new purchases made through Friday.
The company is also extending its “jumpseat agreement” for the next two weeks to help Spirit pilots and flight attendants who may be stranded. JetBlue said it also expects to offer interview opportunities to Spirit team members.
Sun Sentinel staff writer David Lyons contributed to this report.