The American-JetBlue alliance continues as American plans for new routes out of New York and Boston. The two carriers will be adding a combined 33 new routes out of New York and Boston, with JFK getting new flights to the Caribbean and South America on American Airlines metal. American is also planning twelve new routes from three airports this summer. JetBlue will be launching new flights out of LaGuardia, but Newark will prove another big winner with plenty of new routes.

American Airlines plots new international flights out of New York

American Airlines will launch three new daily routes on May 6th out of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) down to Colombia. The airline will fly an Airbus A319 daily down to Bogota (BOG), Medellin (MDE), and Cali (CLO). On the long-haul front, American is adding a new Boeing 777-200ER service out to Santiago, Chile (SCL). The Santiago flight will run thrice weekly before bumping up to daily in November.

American Boeing 777-200ER
American will fly a Boeing 777-200ER down to Chile. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

These new routes will be complemented by new Saturday-service from JFK to St. Lucia (UVF) and Turks and Caicos (PLS) in June. American's service will complement JetBlue's.

Domestic love from American

This summer, American Airlines will launch 12 new routes from the northeastern United States. The routes will mostly operate on a summer seasonal schedule.

From Boston Logan International Airport (BOS):

  • Asheville, North Carolina (AVL) from June 5th through November 6th
  • Columbus, Ohio (CMH) from August 17th, year-round service
  • Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC) from June 5th through September 4th
  • Traverse City, Michigan (TVC) from June 5th through September 6th
  • Wilmington, North Carolina (ILM) from June 5th through August 14th

From New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA):

  • Kansas City, Missouri (MCI) from September 8th, year-round service
  • Key West, Florida (EYW) from June 5th through September 4th
  • Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (MYR) from June 3rd through September 7th
  • Pensacola, Florida (PNS) from June 3rd through September 7th
  • Rapid City, South Dakota (RAP) from June 5th through September 4th
  • Savannah, Georgia (SAV) from June 3rd through September 7th
American Airlines flight schedule
Six of the 12 new domestic routes announced today are out of LaGuardia. Photo: Getty Images

The last new route is from New York-JFK to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California (SNA). This flight will run from June 2nd on a year-round schedule. Separately, American will launch service to Glacier National Park in Kalispell, Monta (FCA), and TVC from La Guardia, but those are previously announced services.

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JetBlue doubles down in Newark and expands in New York

JetBlue has recently turned its attention to Newark, and now it plans to grow even more out of the airport. Starting on July 1st, JetBlue will launch the following new routes out of Newark:

  • V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua (ANU) [up to thrice-weekly]
  • Aguadilla, Puerto Rica (BQN) [daily]
  • Cartagena, Colombia (CTG) [up to four-times per week]
  • Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts (MVY) [up to two times  daily, five times per week on summer seasonal service]
  • Nantucket, Massachusetts (ACK) [up to two times daily, five times per week on summer seasonal service]
  • Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP) [up to four times per week]
  • Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP) [up to five times per week]
  • Seattle, Washington (SEA) [summer seasonal daily service]
  • St. Lucia (UVF) [up to three times per week with Mint offered on select Saturdays]
  • St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (STT) [up to four times per week]
JetBlue Newark
JetBlue continues to grow its Newark presence. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

This will significantly expand JetBlue's Newark portfolio and set it up to compete well with leisure customers.

Over in New York, JetBlue is expanding out of LaGuardia Airport with new flights to:

  • Charleston, South Carolina (CHS) [daily]
  • Denver, Colorado (DEN) [two times per day]
  • Martha's Vineyard (MVY) [daily service, summer seasonal]

Flights to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket will be on JetBlue's Embraer E190 jets, while all other service is planned on the airline's Airbus A320 family fleet.

New York-JFK is also getting additional JetBlue service. Summer seasonal flights will operate to Glacier Park in Montana up to three times per week from July 1st. JetBlue will add its 31st state served with new flights from New York-JFK to Boise, Idaho (BOI). Both routes will operate with Airbus A320 service.

JetBlue Airways Airbus A320
JetBlue is Delta's largest competitor at JFK. Photo: Getty Images

The partnership is proving fruitful for both carriers

Airline partnerships operate in a myriad of ways, and JetBlue and American are targeting a mutually beneficial partnership. American is showing some much-awaited love to New York-JFK after operating more of a niche presence there.

The generic airline partnership between American and JetBlue would have American operating the long-haul international services while JetBlue focused on domestic routes to provide feed to American's service. However, this announcement shows that both carriers are adding more flying.

Much of JetBlue's expansion currently sees the airline growing its relatively small LaGuardia presence and bolstering its newest focus airport at Newark. Not all of these routes are instant profit-makers, but all of the services announced by both carriers leverage each airline's independent strengths while also offering American the opportunity to get some originating customers who would normally fly JetBlue to choose American for a nonstop.

JetBlue
Airlines have stepped out of their usual positions to chase down demand where its seen. Photo: Getty Images

American and JetBlue will launch their first codeshare flights beginning on February 25th. Tickets are already on sale. In total, American's customers will have access to 49 codeshare routes on JetBlue. Meanwhile, JetBlue's customers will get access to over 25 routes on American Airlines. International codeshares are expected to start soon.

American and JetBlue both plan on adding more codeshares as the year progresses. However, to do that, JetBlue needs to ratify an agreement with its pilots, allowing an expansion of codesharing with American Airlines. The new routes should show JetBlue pilots that the airline is serious about adding more flights, but the pilots, represented by their union, hope to secure some more job security guarantees.

Ultimately, there is still some work for both airlines to do before they can feel the full force and weight of the partnership, but the two carriers are off to a huge start.

Are you glad to see American and JetBlue launch 33 new routes? Which of these routes do you want to fly? Let us know in the comments!