JetBlue Airways is seeking 30 more gates as well as space once used by defunct Spirit Airlines as it expands its presence at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, CEO Joanna Geraghty told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Wednesday.
Since its inception more than two decades ago, the New York-based carrier has considered Fort Lauderdale to be one of six U.S. “focus cities” where the carrier believes it can attract the most customers and make a profit doing so.
But in the wake of the collapse of ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, which once led all airlines in passengers carried to and from the Broward County airport, JetBlue is determined to retain its newly established position as market leader by establishing its first-ever hub there.
“We are definitely going to need more resources in the form of gates,” Geraghty said. “We’re working with the Broward County Aviation Department to make sure we have enough operational infrastructure improvements to support our continued growth.”
She spoke ahead of a scheduled airport appearance Thursday with Marty St. George, JetBlue’s president; Mark Gale, CEO/Director of Aviation at the airport; and other local officials who planned to discuss the airport’s future after Spirit’s shutdown.
Spirit, the pioneering discounter, permanently shut down operations on May 2 after failing to secure a federal government bailout. The Dania Beach-based company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2025, the second time in less than a year.
JetBlue had sought to acquire Spirit after outbidding Frontier Airlines in 2023 with a $3.8 billion offer. But a federal judge blocked the deal after the Biden Administration’s Justice Department sued on antitrust grounds.
Other carriers such as Allegiant Air, Avelo Airlines, Breeze Airways, and Frontier Airlines have all added flights on routes once served by Spirit out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International.
But none has been as aggressive as JetBlue, whose president, St. George, appeared at a Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance midyear lunch in May to declare the airline intends to super-charge its local operations by fattening its airport schedule to 150 flights daily, installing a major hub filled with connecting flights to U.S., Caribbean and Latin American destinations in the process.
JetBlue now has 130 flights daily out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International. It operates most of its flights out of Terminal 3 on the airport’s west side. where the airline’s passengers arrive and depart through an estimated 20 gates in Concourses E and F.
The terminal is connected by a closed pedestrian pass-through to Terminal 4, formerly the way station for Spirit’s passengers on the airport’s south side. The latter terminal includes an international arrival center with a Customs inspection station.
Geraghty said JetBlue favors the airport because it charges the airlines lower fees than other airports such as Miami International Airport, whose rates are not popular among many tenants.
“When compared to Miami, Fort Lauderdale is significantly lower,” she said. “Broward County is smart to remember that those costs factor into the ticket prices.”
A workman prepares terminal space once used by Spirit Airlines at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for a transition to other airlines including JetBlue Airways, which expects to operate up to 150 flights daily by 2027. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Interest in Spirit assets, but not its HQ
Geraghty said the airline is also “in the mix” to acquire certain Spirit assets that will soon be auctioned through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York this month.
While she declined to discuss a shopping list, she said JetBlue has no interest in Spirit’s former headquarters building in Dania Beach.busin
“At this point we are not interested in the former headquarters building,” she said, noting the airline has 2,500 people stationed in Broward County, which is also the home of the company’s Paisly travel services subsidiary.
“We’ve got a pretty sizable footprint here already,” Geraghty said.