Last week I wrote about the resurgence of ultra-longhaul flights thanks, in part, to cheaper fuel prices. Today’s announcement is not in the ULH category but it is a long route whose existence can almost certainly be attributed to low fuel costs. JetBlue will fly between Buffalo, NY and Los Angeles starting on 16 June 2016. The route is launching with an introductory fare of $99 each way if purchased by 2 February 2016.
The flight will be a daily service, with an evening westbound returning as a redeye back to the east coast. This is typical “utilization” flying the carrier uses to add in some extra transcon routes when it is trying markets out. But in this case it has Buffalo as the destination, the only redeye which does not hit one of the four hubs on the east coast. That’s a significant shift in the way the company is flying. Even more so given that LAX is also not a hub/focus city operation for the company.
No doubt that part of the draw is the catchment area for Buffalo including suburban Toronto as well; lots of passengers fly out of BUF to save on airfare relative to the Toronto area airports. And this route is another option for them as well. But I have to believe that the most significant driving factor is the cheap fuel costs. This is the third new almost transcon route announced by the carrier in recent weeks; Boston-Salt Lake City and San Diego-Ft. Lauderdale are also set to begin in Q2, though those have a hub at the east coast end.
Oh, and I’m getting my seat for the inaugural now. See you there??
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WOAH!!! NEVER thought I’d see BUF-LAX service! This is huge news for people who live in Upstate, NY. I can see a lot of people willing to drive 2+ hours from as far away as Ithaca to be able to get non-stop service to LAX and avoid connecting through DTW/PHL/EWR etc… Will be interesting to see how this route does!
What is the start date, don’t see it on http://www.jetblue.com/deals/new-service/#/
June 16, 2016. I’ve updated the post to include hat detail as well.
That is great! I really wish I could ride on this one with you! I did fly the inaugural JetBlue flight out of Buffalo back in 2000 so this would be another nice one to add to that.
Have fun! Glad to see this route.
Air Canada is becoming a domineering, not just dominating, transcon carrier at YYZ (Toronto-Pearson) with other airlines dumping their transcon service. At least from SFO and SJC, the transcon airfare has carried a significant premium vis a vi connecting at ORD, DTW, etc. since Air Canada’s last bankruptcy reorganization, but United has gone from about the same number of flights operated as AC to none and Air Canada only has daytime transcons eastbound (the SFO-YYZ transcon redeye was shifted to LAS).
BUF has a real chance to compete with DTW as a near-transcon hub for Jet Blue and others flying non-stop from the West Coast.