JetBlue takes off from MHT

LONDONDERRY, N.H. – After years and years of waiting, Thursday marked the day that so many New Hampshire travelers had waited for: JetBlue has arrived at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT).

JetBlue will have daily year-round service to Orlando and three times weekly, seasonal service to Mt. Myers, and four-times weekly flights to Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood  during winter months.

The airline joins Spirit, Avelo, Breeze and Sun Country in beginning flights at the airport since MHT Director Ted Kitchens came on board in 2018.

MHT now becomes the tenth airport in New England with JetBlue flights, joining Portland, Presque Isle, Hartford, Boston, Hyannis, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Worcester.

“New England has always been a vital part of JetBlue’s journey, and we’re deeply grateful to our customers in the region for their continued loyalty,” said Daniel Shurz, JetBlue’s head of revenue, network, and enterprise planning. “We’re committed to delivering the products, perks, and caring service that our customers value most. With our new flights from Manchester, we’re excited to bring the exceptional JetBlue experience closer to home, offering the convenience of another local airport for our New England customers.”

Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais thanked Kitchens for his efforts to lure JetBlue to New Hampshire and thanked JetBlue President Marty St. George for coming out to celebrate the first flight and putting his faith in Manchester with a $48 million investment. Additionally, Ruais joked that St. George helped fulfill what was a desire among numerous constituents.

“For years the question that people have been asking is ‘When is JetBlue coming to the city? When is this going to happen? We’re on the verge? We’re getting close? We’re getting there?’ Well, today is the day,” he said.

St. George in return praised Kitchens for his efforts at the airport, sharing feedback he had received about its convenience for passengers and quality of its staff.

“I think it was extremely important to us to make sure we saw the opportunity of Manchester, again thanks in part to the incredible work from Ted and his team, and it was finally take to take advantage of it,” said St. George.

St. George also added that JetBlue could bring more flights into and out of MHT if passenger figures continue to grow.

“When you use flights, you get more,” he said. “We opened up in Providence 10 years ago with two flights an now that is up to 10. That doesn’t happen because we love the state of Rhode Island, even though we do, it happened because the customers of Rhode Island love JetBlue. The more you fly, the more flying you get.”

Several of Ft. Myers had several passengers who were unaware of the festivities surrounding the first flight. John Heimann of Rochester, NH was one of those passengers, also stating that this marked the first time in 20 years he had flown out of MHT.

While Heimann prefers MHT over Boston, he says that if JetBlue did not offer flights out of MHT, he’d still go down to Boston to ensure he could use JetBlue.

“I like JetBlue as an airline. They have competitive prices, they have good service,” he said. “I always had to go to Boston, so this is way more convenient. I’m so glad I’m flying out of here.”