JetBlue to Open First-ever Crew Base Outside of the Continental U.S.

JetBlue will open its first-ever crew base outdoors of the continental United States in Puerto Rico, additional cementing the airline’s enlargement plans on the island.

The new crew base for pilots and flight attendants will open on the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan later this 12 months, the airline shared with Travel + Leisure. The base will open in phases and have the capability for as much as 120 pilots and 325 inflight crew.

“We are very excited to have hundreds more crew members here in San Juan, where we are proud to be the largest airline with plans to grow even more,” Warren Christie, JetBlue’s chief working officer, stated in an announcement shared with T+L. “The new crew base will support our operation as we grow and will benefit the local economy in a place we are proud to call home.”

The new base is predicted to deliver greater than 400 native jobs to San Juan.

Carlos Mercado Santiago, the manager director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, known as the brand new base “a milestone in the island’s air access history” and stated it should “provide additional network expansion opportunities for the airline, as well as create new local jobs and increase the tourism industry’s contribution to Puerto Rico’s economic growth.” 

It additionally comes as JetBlue plans to broaden flights to the island. In October, the provider will launch service to and from Puerto Rico and 6 new locations, together with Providence, Rhode Island, Westchester, New York, and Cancun. With the addition of the brand new flights, JetBlue will now fly to a complete of 18 locations from Puerto Rico.

JetBlue additionally plans to make it extra luxurious to get to the island by introducing its enterprise class Mint cabin for the primary time on flights between San Juan and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in July. JetBlue’s Mint expertise consists of lie-flat seats, menus from New York City eating places Pasquale Jones, Charlie Bird, and Legacy Records, and Tuft & Needle bedding.