JetBlue’s flights from MacArthur tap demand for air travel on LI, economists say

JetBlue Airways on Thursday is launching nonstop services to Florida out of Long Island MacArthur Airport, taking advantage of what some economists have called an “untapped” market for air travel.

The added destinations come despite financial struggles at the low-cost carrier, which announced plans earlier this year to drop 15 cities and more than 50 routes, including some from LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, from its flight offerings. 

Long Island has “untapped propensity to travel,” said Long Island economist Martin Cantor. “What that means is, for the population we have, not enough people are flying.”

The region also has a wealthy customer base, said Cantor, who is director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy. He conducted two economic impact studies involving the airport and Midway Crossing in 2015 and 2021.

More than 1.5 million people with a median income of $124,045 live in Suffolk County, according to the 2020 census. Nearly 1.4 million people with a median income of $141,568 live in Nassau County.

Around 1.2 million passengers arrived and departed from MacArthur Airport in 2023, according to airport officials.

“I’ve long thought that MacArthur Airport was undersized relative to our population,” said John Rizzo, economist and Stony Brook University professor. 

There’s “pent up demand” for more accessible air travel in Suffolk County, he said.

Services to Florida 

The partnership has been highly anticipated by both Islip officials and passengers who use the town-owned airport, especially with services to some of the most popular destinations out of MacArthur.

As of this week, JetBlue will operate daily service between Islip and Orlando, and four round-trip flights weekly between the Long Island airport and Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.

All three destinations rank among the top five for Islip passengers between August 2023 and July 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

JetBlue, the sixth largest airline in the nation, is the fourth airline to fly out of Islip, joining Southwest Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Breeze Airways.

Federal data indicates nearly half of all passengers out of MacArthur fly with Southwest. A little more than 45% prefer Frontier and just over 5% use Breeze. 

MacArthur has “adequate” space and staff to “accommodate new carriers” safely and efficiently, said Islip spokeswoman Caroline Smith. “JetBlue has hired staffing for their airline operation.”

$100M in upgrades at MacArthur

The addition of the major airline is the latest update at the Islip airport, which has undergone more than $100 million in planning and capital projects since 2016, including a ground transportation center and a fire rescue building.

The pending $2.8 billion Midway Crossing proposal is also expected to build a walkway connecting a new MacArthur air terminal to Ronkonkoma’s Long Island Rail Road Station. The proposal calls for 2.7 million square feet of new construction, including a convention center, a 300-room hotel and health sciences facilities.

“There’s room for MacArthur to expand substantially and still be very convenient compared to LaGuardia and JFK,” said Rizzo, who hopes more airlines opt to fly out of Islip.

He added: “For the betterment and economic development on Long Island, I think expanding that airport is crucial.” 

Profits drop from 2023

JetBlue ranked ninth out of the nation’s 10 largest airlines in both canceled flights and on-time arrivals last year, federal data shows.

Between the summers of 2023 and 2024, JetBlue has seen passengers drop a little more than 8% and departures drop just over 10%, according to federal data. New York remained among its top markets with nearly 6 million passengers.

The carrier reported a $25 million profit for the second quarter this summer, an 82% drop from a year ago and a surprise to analysts who expected the New York-based airline to post a loss for the April-through-June fiscal period.

MacArthur Airport has reported $15 million in revenue so far this year, Smith said. The airport took in $22 million in 2023, with a $5 million net profit. 

The town declined to provide a copy of the airline contract signed with JetBlue. 

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request to view the contract. 

Check back for updates on this developing story.