JetBlue makes Fort Lauderdale push amid Spirit’s struggles

As questions swirl about the future of Spirit Airlines, JetBlue has been making a big push in the budget airline’s backyard. And it may just be getting started.

Last week, JetBlue announced a major expansion at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), ramping up service to Latin America and a handful of U.S. cities — including a slew of routes Spirit serves.

Expect to see more where that came from. “The bet we’ve made in [Fort] Lauderdale is a pretty big bet,” JetBlue president Marty St. George said, speaking last week at an industry conference. “And we have more stuff to come.”

So far this year, JetBlue has added 17 new routes out of FLL, and bolstered its flying to a dozen other cities. That includes a significantly larger presence in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

All you have to do is look at a map to see the growth — check out what JetBlue’s international route map out of FLL looked like in January 2025, as shown by Cirium.

Here’s what it’ll look like come January 2026 — St. Maarten, Honduras, Colombia, Aruba, Costa Rica, you name it.

That southward expansion isn’t over.

“There are a lot of places south of Fort Lauderdale that we’d like to fly,” St. George said, addressing the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference in California on Sept. 11.

All told, the airline expects to grow its departures out of Fort Lauderdale this winter by 38%, per Cirium data.

And the carrier sees the airport, going forward, as the southeast counterpart to its big hubs in New York and Boston — a third “tentpole,” as St. George put it, to complement John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).

Opportunities in Fort Lauderdale

That JetBlue is back to major growth somewhere outside the Northeast is notable, after 2024 saw the carrier pull back significantly in other parts of the country as part of a series of maneuvers meant to return the company to profitability.

The timing of the carrier’s Fort Lauderdale moves, though, is no coincidence. JetBlue has long wanted more gates at FLL.

The airport’s top carrier — Spirit Airlines — is now embroiled in chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year (and less than two years after its planned merger with JetBlue came to a halt). Spirit has raised concerns about its long-term financial viability, and recently began slashing flights from its network — opening up gate space in Fort Lauderdale in the process.

“As our biggest competitor there has started to [cut back] and luckily open up some gate capacity for us,” St. George said, “we’re taking advantage of it.”

So have other rivals. United Airlines recently announced a sizable Florida expansion, and Spirit’s low-cost competitor Frontier Airlines will grow its wintertime departures out of FLL by 40%, Cirium data shows.

Earlier this month, Spirit told TPG the network moves by other airlines amounted to “wishful thinking” by competitors hoping to put the Dania Beach-based carrier out of business.

Regardless of the motives, JetBlue and others sense a big growth opportunity — perhaps a once-in-a-decade chance — to make a big push in Fort Lauderdale, now perhaps one of the airline industry’s biggest flashpoints in the year ahead.

“We are excited to welcome the new routes and/or increased flight frequency that existing carriers have announced recently,” the Broward County Aviation Department, which oversees FLL, told TPG in a statement, noting the increase in “convenient and cost-effective ways to visit and enjoy these destinations” for business and leisure travelers alike.

FAQ: Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy and how it might affect your travel

JetBlue’s future plans in Europe

On top of adding new short-haul international routes to Latin America, JetBlue is also dropping hints about its future long-haul international flights to Europe.

It was only four years ago the carrier launched its first transatlantic flights to London. Then came Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh and Madrid. But while JetBlue isn’t ruling out another European destination, it is expecting its fast growth trajectory across the pond to level off.

The carrier is only slated to receive two more planes capable of reaching Europe between now and 2031: “We’re just about reaching the first plateau of transatlantic growth,” St. George said.

Still, the carrier remains bullish on its still-burgeoning Europe service.

That’s especially true after the carrier began pulling back (some) on its transatlantic flights during the wintertime, instead deploying those planes — equipped with its spiffiest Mint cabin — to popular warm-weather and skiing destinations.

“That balance of good sun markets in the winter, and then the European markets in the summer and fall, has made for a very, very good profit portfolio for us,” St. George said.

Doubling down on premium Europe service

JetBlue’s long-haul Europe service will get a premium infusion on the ground later this year when the carrier unveils its first airport lounge at JFK, offering access to its Mint passengers taking those flights.

A second outpost will open next year at BOS.

While the lounges will cater to JetBlue’s high-paying travelers flying to Europe, there will be other ways for customers to gain entry. The airline will offer club access to top-tier Mosaic 4 elite status members, and TrueBlue loyalists who carry the carrier’s new premium credit card.

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