Jetblue, a “low cost carrier” in the United States has just placed an order for 13 Airbus A321XLR aircraft and an additional 10 A220 planes.
Jetblue has been known to be looking into a new longer range A321 aircraft for their new routes set to start in 2021 to London from their two biggest east coast hubs.
For now that aircraft will be the A321LR (long range) but with the order of the A321XLR one would believe Jetblue is exploring new options and routes to enter the trans atlantic market.
Currently Jetblue has 85 A321Neo/LR aircraft on order which will begin to operate the new routes across the pond starting in 2021. Jetblue also has an order for 60 A220 aircraft which now has grown to 70 with the additional order of 10. Jetblue’s fleet will be composed of all Airbus products starting with the A220 replacing the E190 starting in 2020, the current A320 that is the backbone of JetBlue’s operations, the A321 standard version which currently operates trans con and a select few flights to Florida and the Caribbean out of Boston and New York, the new A321LR set to operate JetBlue’s new route to London, and now the A321XLR which is set to join the fleet sometime in the next 3-4 years with an unknown set of routes.
We’ve recently flew Jetblue from Chicago to Boston and had a pleasant experience on their E190 aircraft, the aircraft that’s going to be leaving JetBlue’s fleet starting in the next few years in favor of the A220. Jetblue is currently undergoing some renovations to their fleet as the very old A320’s are getting remodeled. The new A320’s will not feature a mint cabin but they will resemble the A321 cabin in the same exact way with new seats, power outlets at all seats, adjustable headrests, bigger 10 inch tv screens, and some more small cosmetic upgrades to help Jetblue in their quest to be one of the better airlines in the US.
Picture by:aircraftinteriorsinternational
As stated the new trans Atlantic routes will be operated out of Jetblue’s two biggest east coast cities, Boston and New York. In a statement a Jetblue representative said “We might be New York’s hometown airline but we’re the heart of Boston. Delta wants to become the largest carrier there but we’re going to fight them. We’ve got a new team planning strategy there. This is our city!” so as you can see despite Delta making Boston their newest hub, Jetblue plans to keep the crown of Boston’s best airline. Only time will tell how the two battle it out for one of the fastest growing markets in the northeast for domestic and international travel.
What do you think about JetBlue’s new acquisition of the A321XLR? Do you think it’s a good purchase for the company? Let us know down below!
Feature image by: Aviation international news
