JetBlue Airways, which has supplanted defunct Spirit Airlines as the busiest air carrier at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, intends to expand its operations to 150 daily flights by February 2027, the carrier’s president told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday.
Marty St. George noted the carrier has already added more service to the Broward County airport in the wake of Spirit’s financial collapse and shutdown on May 2. The latter carrier was the target of an unsuccessful takeover attempt by JetBlue in 2024. But a federal judge blocked the proposed $3.8 billion deal on antitrust grounds.
Now, JetBlue is looking to take over most of Spirit’s vacated terminal space as part of a broader plan to establish its first hub ever at the airport.
St. George was in South Florida to address the annual midyear meeting of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the county’s economic development arm, at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Hollywood.
From first flight to No. 1
More than two decades ago, the budget airline operated its first flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Fort Lauderdale. Over the years, JetBlue competed with Spirit for budget-minded passengers, generally trailing the Dania-Beach-based carrier in passengers served, but consistently appearing in the airport’s Top Ten rankings.
Today, it’s JetBlue that occupies the top spot.
“It’s not necessarily the way we wanted to get there, but I think we ended up in a good spot,” St. George said. “Broward County ended up in a good spot. Our service has been very well received here.”
“This is an incredible opportunity for us — not necessarily to be No. 1, but to diversify from the Northeast,” he added.
JetBlue and Spirit Airlines planes are shown at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in 2024 after a judge blocked a proposed Jetblue buyout of Spirit. JetBlue now seeks to take over most of Spirit’s vacated terminal space after the latter’s May 2 shutdown. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
“We have very aggressive growth plans for South Florida,” St. George said. “I think by February 2027 we will be at 150 flights a day.”
It would be an operation that is bigger than the carrier’s footprint in Boston, as well as in New York.
Prior to speaking with reporters, St. George sat for an onstage interview with Bob Swindell, president and CEO of the alliance, before a luncheon audience of several hundred business and public sector guests.
The airline executive characterized JetBlue’s anticipated expansion as a “big bet” on Fort Lauderdale.
“It’s a full-size operation for us,” he told the Sun Sentinel. “For the first time in JetBlue’s history, [there will be] an actual hub where we have flights timed for connections. I think it’s going to be a very different operation than we have ever had before.”
The airline envisions more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean; the carrier plans to announce a new Latin destination next week.
Supplanting Spirit
St. George said he couldn’t speak about whether JetBlue will replace “everything that Spirit did. But I will say we are definitely focused on what the community needs and how JetBlue will fulfill that need.”
He said the airline would be “comfortable” with taking over most of the vacated Spirit space.
“We can’t be the solution for everybody. We can’t fly people everywhere,” he added. “As a reminder — Spirit did not make money. They certainly were doing stuff that was not profitable.”
Like St. George, other airline executives recognize the importance of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and the opportunities it offers. Most notably, it’s cheaper for airlines to use than Miami International Airport, which JetBlue vacated after two years due to the higher cost of operations.
Even as Spirit reduced operations, the last place the ultra-low-cost carrier shrank was Fort Lauderdale. On its last day, Spirit canceled 277 flights systemwide, with 89 of them out of Fort Lauderdale, according to the tracking service FlightAware.
JetBlue currently operates slightly more than 100 flights daily at the airport, a spokesman said. But that number will rise during the summer.
Asked about what competitors such as Allegiant Air and Frontier Airlines may have in mind, St. George said it is “too soon to say.”
“I have great confidence the airport director and [county] commissioners will be in line with us,” he said.
Fuel costs inflating fares
He said it was also too early to forecast the degree to which Spirit’s disappearance will impact fares in the marketplace, particularly at an airport known for hosting a number of discount airlines.
“At the same time [Spirit’s failure] happened, prices went up because of the price of fuel,” St. George said. “If Spirit were still here, prices would have gone up a ton. There is no question prices will have to go up because of fuel.”
He said JetBlue is still focused on offering lower fares, with customers able to buy additional legroom as well as tickets for the airline’s upscale MINT service.
“The majority of our customers will be in the back of the airplane buying their cheap fares,” he said.
New terminal
St. George reaffirmed that a planned new terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood east of the one dominated by Spirit is “still happening.” The Terminal 5 project, of which JetBlue is a co-construction manager, has been slow to develop. No structures have risen since a groundbreaking in October 2023.
“We need the gates; it’s definitely going to happen,” he said, adding that he had toured the site during his visit in South Florida. “We will work with the airport for the allocation of gates.”
As recently as a month ago, St. George noted, Spirit showed an interest in the terminal.
“Spirit’s not there anymore,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that that will work out well for us.”