\u201cFort 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\u2019ve been preparing for this day over the last months,\u201d JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty told Miami outlet WPLG<\/a>.<\/p>\n The comments come as the airline added eight additional nonstop destinations from Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, July 9 \u2014 with six more destinations on the way, per a press release<\/a>. That brings the company\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n JetBlue CEO Joanna GeraghtyCredit: Al Drago\/Bloomberg via Getty<\/p>\n In order to fulfill those goals, the company is bringing on additional personnel to staff its routes. JetBlue didn\u2019t have to look far to fill those gaps. \u201cJetBlue\u2019s growing in the Fort Lauderdale area,\u201d Geraghty said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be growing to about 150 by the end, so we are hiring across most of our workgroups and hiring Spirit crew members.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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> \u2014 a significant number of customers JetBlue is looking to attract.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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<\/p>\n Geraghty told the South Florida Sun Sentinel<\/a> that JetBlue is \u201cin the mix\u201d 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\u2019re interested in.<\/p>\n Geraghty did clarify the company is not interested in Spirit\u2019s former office building, located in Dania Beach, Fla. \u2014 less than five miles away from the airport.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point we are not interested in the former headquarters building\u2026 We\u2019ve got a pretty sizable footprint here already,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Compared with other nearby airports, like Miami International, Geraghty says JetBlue favors Fort Lauderdale as the facility charges lower fees for airlines. \u201cWhen compared to Miami, Fort Lauderdale is significantly lower,\u201d she said. \u201cBroward County is smart to remember that those costs factor into the ticket prices.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"JetBlue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cb413168-8649-4b34-bf41-a94ff2c20bae.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Spirit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ad767731-2c72-4ed1-8009-cfd9a907b98c.jpg\"\/)
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