In what should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, JetBlue announced today that they will launch flights to Paris-Charles de Gaulle from New York-JFK as of June 29th, 2023. This will be JetBlue’s second transatlantic market after the carrier began London service from both Boston and New York in 2021. As with the London service, the flight will be operated with an Airbus A321LR aircraft with 24 Mint Suite business class seats and 114 economy seats. The New York-Paris flights are already on sale and will operate on the following schedule.
JFK-CDG: JetBlue 1407 Depart: 5:09p Arrive: 6:55a (+1)
CDG-JFK: JetBlue 1408 Depart: 8:55a Arrive: 11:51a
The flight will begin operation with daily service and has fares starting at $479 roundtrip in economy and $1,899 in Mint for travelers originating in the United States. For passengers originating in Europe, special introductory fares are available starting at €399 for economy and €1,299 for Mint. JetBlue will operate these flights from T5 at New York’s JFK Airport and from Terminal 2B at Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
With Delta and Air France dominating the New York-Paris route, I’m interested to see how JetBlue is able to compete. If anything, their presence in the market should provide pricing competition to Delta and Air France which is good for travelers. However, without multiple daily frequencies and a lack of lounges and connectivity in Paris, I see this targeted more towards leisure travelers instead of business travelers.
Though I have yet to fly on JetBlue, I am flying Air France from JFK-CDG the day before this route launches. Maybe it is time for a head to head between JetBlue, Delta, Air France and La Compagnie.
Summary
I’m excited to see JetBlue enter the New York-Paris market, though this wasn’t a surprise to anyone. I’m interested to see how this route does given the issues outlined above but JetBlue does have a cult following, especially in the northeast. Hopefully we continue to see them push into more transatlantic markets to beef up the competition.
