JetBlue Increases Service to Barbados

New York's Hometown Airline Moves to Daily A321 Ser
NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq:JBLU) today announces a renewed commitment to Barbados, with plans to serve New York/JFK to Bridgetown, Barbados with daily Airbus A321 service, adding up to 580 seats per week each way, starting December 19, 2013. Additionally, JetBlue has filed to offer more capacity to Barbados during peak holiday times, including President's Day and Easter, subject to receipt of government approval. Both the daily A321 flights and additional peak holiday flights are now available for sale on JetBlue.com.


"JetBlue has been a trusted partner to Barbados since 2009, moving large numbers of visitors and members of the diaspora to our beautiful island!" said Adrian Elcock, Chairman of the Barbados Tourism Authority. "We are extremely excited to have reached an agreement with JetBlue to significantly increase their capacity to Barbados and we will continue to work aggressively with the expansive JetBlue network as part of our greater strategy of securing more arrivals from the United States."


"The people of Barbados and those who love to visit the island nation for work or pleasure can continue to rely on JetBlue for great service at a competitive fare," said Robin Hayes, JetBlue's chief commercial officer. "We have been warmly welcomed by the Barbadian community ever since we started service in 2009, and it is our honor to continue to meet the travel needs of this community." 


JetBlue expects to meet peak winter holiday demand by deploying brand new A321 aircraft on the route starting December 19, 2013. These aircraft will be fresh from the Airbus factory and will not initially have LiveTV programming (television, movies or radio) available. As a new aircraft to the JetBlue fleet, the A321 must receive a supplemental type certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration before JetBlue can install and activate the airline's signature entertainment on all A321s. The certification timeline may be impacted by the partial U.S. government shut down. JetBlue anticipates offering LiveTV's full suite of entertainment on the first A321 aircraft by April 2014 (a). Per the airline's policy, all customers on aircraft without functioning inflight entertainment will receive a $15 travel certificate credit per flight, valid for one year, to apply to future JetBlue travel.