JetBlue is canceling its flight route between Vero Beach Regional Airport and New York's JFK Airport, with the last flights operating on Sept. 9. The airline cited low demand as the reason for ending the route, which launched last December to excitement from Treasure Coast residents hoping for convenient travel options to the Northeast.
Brandon Dambeck, interim airport director, said the decision reflects how the airline industry operates. "It's just the way that that market works, and air carriers will fluctuate based off of demand," Dambeck said. He explained that JetBlue was not seeing the ridership numbers it had hoped for on the JFK route. "Just wasn't seeing what they were hoping for," Dambeck said. However, the Boston route is performing well. "Boston is seeing great demand," Dambeck said.
Not everyone agrees the route had a fair shot. Charlie Ahern, who regularly uses JetBlue flights at Vero Beach Regional Airport, said he believes the route would have grown over time. "I think if they hung in there, it would have worked. I think it would have built up pretty good," Ahern said. He emphasized the convenience of flying out of Vero Beach. "It's easy. It's close," Ahern said. Grece Ezzi flew into Vero Beach on JetBlue from Boston on Friday for the first time.
Dambeck said the door is not closed on the route returning in the future. "They'll evaluate continuously. So just because it's gone now doesn't mean that it never will come back," Dambeck said. All affected customers will be notified directly by JetBlue and will receive full refunds. JetBlue has not announced whether it plans to add any replacement routes from Vero Beach or if it will adjust frequency on the remaining Boston service. Passengers with upcoming reservations on the discontinued route are encouraged to contact JetBlue directly or check their email for rebooking options and refund information.