While the United States (for the time being) maintains its entry ban for Europeans, and transatlantic air traffic is virtually at a standstill, the American low-cost airline Jetblue inaugurated a new route between New York and London on Friday. Despite the corona crisis, which has brought aviation to the brink of collapse, the low-cost airline has ordered 26 additional aircraft for the next three to four years and wants to fly daily between the US and Europe. Jetblue will eventually operate 'more than' twenty flights a day.

Jetblue will operate from both Boston and New York and says it will offer flights from USD 202. With this it wants to shake up the transatlantic market. Prices have been too high for a long time, because there is 'no real competition' between the large network companies, such as the German Lufthansa since June.

In normal times, transatlantic flights are a lucrative market for those traditional carriers, with total sales of about $9 billion a year before the pandemic. They also face less competition from low-cost carriers than within Europe ... especially after Iceland's Wow Air went bankrupt in 2019 and Norwegian Air stopped long-haul flights last year.

The flights between Europe and the US are very expensive because there is no real competition, but while continental travel restrictions have been relaxed and air traffic has partially recovered, there is still much less flow to the US. Washington, with a lot of business travelers, is doing reasonably well but New York, a more touristic destination, is more difficult. The major American airlines (which are still allowed to fly American tourists to Europe) are also keeping it low profile. Delta, for example, will only return to Brussels Airport from November.

And so new airlines want to take advantage of the empty airspace over the Atlantic Ocean to break into the market. Norwegian newcomer Norse Atlantic also wants to do this from next summer.

The crisis can be an 'ideal moment' to start up with a good business model. Leasing planes is cheap, there are staff available and landing rights at previously saturated airports are relatively easy to get. In addition, many established airlines that were rescued with public money, are carrying more debt than before the crisis . It should come as no surprise that newcomers go in for the kill.

--- DB4 - Jul 07 2021
* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)

--- DB4 - Jul 07 2021
* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)