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JetBlue just added eight new nonstop destinations from Fort Lauderdale with plans to increase daily departures to 150 by winter
The airline is hiring former Spirit Airlines employees after the company abruptly ceased operations in May
JetBlue is considering acquiring Spirit assets through bankruptcy court but is not interested in Spirit’s former headquarters located near the airport
JetBlue is drastically expanding its services at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Florida as the company seeks to fill the void left behind after Spirit Airlines’ abruptly ceased operations in May.
“Fort Lauderdale is a fantastic opportunity for us. We knew, as most of the public knew, that Spirit was not great. They filed for bankruptcy twice, so we’ve been preparing for this day over the last months,” JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty told Miami outlet WPLG.
The comments come as the airline added eight additional nonstop destinations from Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, July 9 — with six more destinations on the way, per a press release. That brings the company’s total number of daily departures at the facility to about 130 with more than 55 nonstop destinations. By winter, JetBlue hopes to increase daily departures to about 150.
JetBlue CEO Joanna GeraghtyCredit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
In order to fulfill those goals, the company is bringing on additional personnel to staff its routes. JetBlue didn’t have to look far to fill those gaps. “JetBlue’s growing in the Fort Lauderdale area,” Geraghty said. “We’re going to be growing to about 150 by the end, so we are hiring across most of our workgroups and hiring Spirit crew members.”
JetBlue has not announced how many former Spirit Airlines employees have been hired by the company since May. However, a spokesperson tells PEOPLE the company is prioritizing the review of their applications.
When Spirit shuttered its global operations on May 2, about 17,000 employees were left without jobs. As of April 2026, Spirit held about 24% of the market share at FLL, according to data from Broward County — a significant number of customers JetBlue is looking to attract.
Spirit Airlines check-in kiosks sit empty at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after the company ceased operations on May 2.Credit: GIORGIO VIERA / AFP via Getty
Geraghty told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that JetBlue is “in the mix” to acquire certain Spirit assets that will be auctioned through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York later this month. However, she did not specify which items they’re interested in.
Geraghty did clarify the company is not interested in Spirit’s former office building, located in Dania Beach, Fla. — less than five miles away from the airport.
“At this point we are not interested in the former headquarters building… We’ve got a pretty sizable footprint here already,” she said.
Compared with other nearby airports, like Miami International, Geraghty says JetBlue favors Fort Lauderdale as the facility charges lower fees for airlines. “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.”
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In conversation with WPLG, the CEO said JetBlue “wants fares to be affordable, but we want to make sure we offer a great product, too,” noting that fuel and labor costs remain a significant operational expense.
Read the original article on People