Why JetBlue decided to dump Charlotte as a destination after nearly two decades
JetBlue is pulling out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport in the fall, the low-fare airline confirmed Thursday.
The decision by the New York-based company was made because of “under-performance and lack of customer demand,” the company said in a statement. JetBlue’s final day of service in Charlotte will be Saturday, Oct. 26.
“Exiting a market is a difficult decision and we were privileged to have served Charlotte,” the company stated.
For passengers in the Charlotte region, this means losing a flight option to Boston — JetBlue’s only nonstop route for CLT. Impacted customers will have their tickets refunded to their original form of payment, the airline said.
The airline started its Charlotte services in 2006 with flights between CLT and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
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JetBlue will start making investments in other parts of its network, the company said about dropping service in Charlotte and several other cities. Some of the cuts are at Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; San Antonio, Texas; Burbank, California; and Tallahassee, Florida, according to The Points Guy, a travel website.
The airline is planning to expand across the New England region and Florida, according to a Wednesday news release.
And JetBlue will continue to have a presence in North Carolina with flights at Raleigh-Durham International Airport with services to Boston and several other U.S. cities. Flights are also available for San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cancun, Mexico.
Airlines at the Charlotte airport
JetBlue has a small footprint at CLT along with other carriers such as Delta, Frontier, Southwest and Spirit.
JetBlue makes up just 0.3% of flights at the airport, according to Charlotte Douglas officials.
American Airlines accounts for about 90% of all flights at the airport. Charlotte Douglas is the second-largest hub for the Fort Worth, Texas-based company.
The Charlotte airport is ranked as the seventh-busiest airport worldwide for arrivals and departures, according to the Airport Council International’s preliminary rankings for 2022.
