JetBlue to end service at Miami International Airport
JetBlue Airways is ceasing service at Miami International Airport as the discount carrier moves to cut costs by eliminating less profitable routes.
Miami International officials told CBS News Miami this weekend that the last JetBlue flight is scheduled for September 3.
The airport is not a key hub for JetBlue. The airline operates only a single route into Miami International, offering one to two daily flights between the city and Boston's Logan International Airport, according to JetBlue spokesperson Derek Dombrowski. JetBlue serves over three dozen cities in the U.S., according to its route map.
For passengers heading to South Florida, JetBlue will continue to operate out of nearby Palm Beach International Airport and Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport. The latter, roughly 25 miles north of Miami, offered 70 daily flights to over 30 destinations as of April of this year.
JetBlue will also suspend its year-round service between Boston and Seattle starting October 25, offering flights between the two cities solely during the summer season, according to Dombrowski.
The shift in services align with changes outlined by JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty in an internal memo shared with CBS News last week. In it, Geraghty said the company would "wind down underperforming routes" as part of a larger effort to reduce costs amid softening demand for travel.
"We're hopeful demand and bookings will rebound, but even a recovery won't fully offset the ground we've lost this year, and our path back to profitability will take longer than we'd hoped," she said in the memo. "That means we're still relying on borrowed cash to keep the airline running."
The decision to terminate service at Miami International comes four years after JetBlue added the airport to its network. At its peak, the airline was operating as many as 14 daily flights to and from Miami International, according to the Miami Herald.
JetBlue customers with flights booked to or from Miami after September 3 will be contacted and offered alternative travel options via Fort Lauderdale or a full refund, according to Dombrowski.
Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at "60 Minutes," CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.
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