JetBlue adding 3 more nonstops from Austin
Carrier to serve San Francisco, two cities in Florida, will use airport as connecting hub
By Lori Hawkins
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
More nonstop flights are coming onboard for Austin, with JetBlue Airways Corp. adding three destinations beginning May 1.
The discount airline is expected to announce today that it is starting daily nonstop service to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., and San Francisco.
JetBlue will use 100-seat Embraer 190 planes for the flights. Introductory fares will be as low as $99 each way if booked at jetblue.com by Feb. 29 for travel before June 18.
JetBlue chief executive Dave Barger is scheduled to be in Austin this morning to meet with business leaders and to formally announce the expansion.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will become the connecting airport for Florida travelers flying to the West Coast.
With the new flights, JetBlue will have nonstop service to six destinations, including New York, Boston and Long Beach, Calif., which was announced last week.
Austin has gained nine nonstop destinations outside of Texas in the past year, helping raise the city's profile as a travel center and making life easier for business travelers.
JetBlue will be competing with Southwest Airlines Co. on the Florida flights and with United Airlines on the San Francisco route.
Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement that JetBlue's expansion "brings significant economic investment to our state and, in turn, provides Texans with more choices when they travel."
New York-based JetBlue entered Texas two years ago. Like other discount carriers, it has sought to fill voids left by larger network carriers.
JetBlue said its Austin expansion comes in response to demand.
"Local support in Austin came faster than expected," said Marty St. George, vice president of planning.
"We have a very clear brand image, and Austin has the very attractive demographics that are consistent with that — younger, college educated. It's a JetBlue kind of city."
Although the airline also has service in Houston, Austin was the best choice to be the connection point for Florida travelers heading to the West Coast, St. George said.
"We picked Austin very deliberately. We liked the data we saw," he said.
The new nonstop flights will be welcome news to business travelers, said Susan Davenport, vice president for business retention and expansion for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.
When the chamber met with more than 100 top regional business executives last year as part of a business retention and expansion effort, one of the top three issues they cited was the need for more nonstop flights, she said.
"Getting customers and employees in and out of Austin is important," she said. "More nonstop flights makes for better opportunities for businesses."
The decision to make Austin JetBlue's connecting hub for Florida-West Coast travelers provides "another piece of the puzzle," Davenport said.
"It will be an advantage for us as we look to garner additional connections and nonstops," she said.
http://www.statesman.com/news/conten...20jetblue.html
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I don't really think the presidential debate has anything to do with it, although it is nice to get the national exposure. I think it's more due to the fact that Austin has gotten a lot of positive press in the last year or so and we're a thriving, growing city. Our skyline - with all it's cranes is certainly a symbol of that growth. 
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