JetBlue in October will end service currently operated at Long Beach Airport and move some of that service to Los Angeles International Airport, the carrier announced Thursday.
The move is the next step in what JetBlue called its "focus city strategy," in which it consolidates service in major metropolitan areas. In Southern California, the carrier in April announced it would temporarily suspend service at Hollywood Burbank and Ontario International airports in favor of LAX and Long Beach, and now it is consolidating further.
"LAX is one of JetBlue's most successful markets and offers the valuable opportunity to grow significantly both domestically and internationally while introducing our low fares on more routes," JetBlue head of revenue and planning Scott Laurence said in a statement. "The transition to LAX, serving as the anchor of our focus city strategy on the West Coast, sets JetBlue up for success in Southern California. We continue to seize on opportunities to emerge from this pandemic a stronger competitive force in the industry."
On Oct. 6, JetBlue will end service at Long Beach. The following day, it will begin nonstop LAX service to Austin; Bozeman, Mont.; Las Vegas, Reno-Tahoe; Salt Lake City; San Francisco; and Seattle-Tacoma.
JetBlue currently operates LAX service to Boston, Buffalo, Fort Lauderdale, New York-JFK and Orlando. It previously announced it would launch premium Mint LAX-Newark service July 23.
The airline does plan to resume service eventually at Ontario and Burbank airports, a JetBlue spokesperson clarified to BTN. Before the pandemic, JetBlue served New York-JFK from both airports and Boston Logan from Burbank.