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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
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