Discount airline JetBlue entered the Nashville market (this morning/yesterday) when its first aircraft touched down at Nashville International Airport carrying a full load of paying passengers.
Metro Nashville Airport Authority President Raul (as in Paul) Regalado (re-ghel-LA-toe) says the discount carrier’s arrival comes after the authority spent three years evaluating service to New York. He says Delta Airlines has had a virtual monopoly on the route to JFK International and says fares were out of line.
“We want to make sure we’re looking out for the interests of our community and our customers so that they’re not being gouged …If we don’t get a positive response, then we’ll look for alternatives, and the alternative is competition, and that is to bring in a new airline…to drive the price down, and I think that’s exactly what we’re seeing right now in the New York market.”
JetBlue now offers three, daily non-stop flights to and from JFK. The carrier is offering 89-dollar, one-way tickets, which has already spurred Delta to drop its fares.
Thirteen JetBlue employees are now based in Nashville, but more jobs could come to the area through the Embraer maintenance shop which will services JetBlue aircraft.
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