NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– JetBlue today announced it intends to apply with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for slot exemptions to operate a second daily low fare nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The recently enacted Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024 authorizes slot exemptions for five additional roundtrip flights at DCA beyond the airport’s 1,250-mile perimeter. JetBlue has operated the only daily nonstop service between DCA and SJU since the DOT awarded slot exemptions to the airline in 2012. Adding a second daily flight on this popular route underscores JetBlue's longstanding commitment to Puerto Rico and will provide additional easy capital-to-capital service in both directions.
This application is part of JetBlue's broader initiative to increase connectivity to and from Puerto Rico, including adding more domestic and international destinations, introducing the airline’s popular Mint premium service between New York and San Juan, and establishing a pilot and flight attendant crew base in San Juan. Additionally, adding a second daily flight on the route would support further connectivity to the U.S. Virgin Islands, including both St. Thomas and new service to St. Croix set to launch in December, as well as to additional destinations in the region.
“JetBlue looks forward to submitting our application to enhance the connection between Reagan National and our focus city, San Juan, with convenient double-daily low fare roundtrip flights between the two capitals,” said Robert Land, JetBlue’s head of government affairs and associate general counsel. “Puerto Rico, known as ‘La Isla del Encanto,’ relies on air service to maintain and enhance its connection with the mainland United States, and to Washington, D.C. in particular.”
Since becoming a part of the Puerto Rico community in 2002, the airline’s much-loved low fares and customer experience quickly positioned JetBlue as a preferred carrier on the island. JetBlue today employs more than 370 crewmembers across Puerto Rico – and growing. JetBlue also provides service at Aguadilla and Ponce, and with future announced service in San Juan, it will operate flights to 18 different nonstop destinations from the three airports it serves on the island by the end of 2024. The airline will average 46 departures per day from Puerto Rico this upcoming winter, more than any other airline.
