‘Here to stay,’ JetBlue expands in Europe with new Madrid, Edinburgh flights from Boston

In the six months since JetBlue announced its new flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) and Edinburgh Airport (EDI) in Scotland, the airline and broader travel industries have been rocked by unexpected changes and pressures. Demand has shifted amid fears of a recession, and the airline has doubled down on its push for efficiency in its network, going as far as to cut new routes before they even launch.

Some speculated that JetBlue would pull back on its transatlantic ambitions after longtime CEO Robin Hayes retired in 2024, but the carrier’s leadership is adamant that the opposite is actually the case.

“The Transatlantic part of our business is actually one of our best strengths at the moment,” JetBlue’s chief financial officer Ursula Hurley told TPG in Boston, just before the carrier launched its first-ever service to Spain and its first Scotland service from Boston.

“The European franchise is important,” Hurley added. “And we’re here to stay.”

Doubling down on transatlantic

Under CEO Joanna Geraghty, who assumed her post in early 2024, JetBlue began a concerted effort to improve its operational performance and rein in costs through several tactics.

That included realigning its network to focus on its core Northeast and East Coast markets, cutting destinations that were underperforming and pulling back on some previous expansions — including numerous short-haul routes from Los Angeles.

In tightening up its network, JetBlue also cut some of its winter flying to Europe and redeployed the premium aircraft it uses on those routes, while pledging to be more “opportunistic” when it comes to the European market.

But even those moves didn’t mean abandoning transatlantic.

In fact, Hurley said, the new Boston flights are examples of how that opportunistic expansion aligns with the airline’s current goals: focusing on leisure travel out of the East Coast.

“The European strategy is really about expanding customer options out of New York and Boston,” Hurley said. “So Madrid, for example, is a place that customers want to go to from a leisure perspective, and so we’re just connecting the dots.”

Adding Madrid to its list of destinations and launching service from Boston to Edinburgh — which follow’s last year’s start of flights to Scotland from New York City — are the latest examples of how JetBlue intends to pick and choose long, thin and lucrative routes that appeal to leisure travelers in the airline’s home markets.

Edinburgh, in particular, is a good case. Travel demand to Scotland has grown notably in recent years. In 2023, Edinburgh surpassed pre-pandemic levels of visitors.

U.S. airlines have steadily added nonstop service to match the demand, saving travelers a stop in a European airline hub like London or Amsterdam. In 2025, passenger airlines will operate a total of 2,113 round-trip flights between the U.S. and Edinburgh, according to data from Cirium — up from 431 round-trips in 2012, when United launched service from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

In fact, JetBlue is not the only airline with an inaugural flight to the Scottish capital this week; American Airlines will launch its own service from Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, using a wide-body aircraft — a Boeing 787-8.

JetBlue, meanwhile, operates the route with its long-range Airbus A321LR. It’s a narrow-body that offers relatively low operating costs with a premium-heavy configuration that allows the airline to earn a solid profit margin.

The jets are equipped with 24 Mint business class suites, 24 “EvenMore” extra-legroom seats and 90 “Core” economy seats.

It’s a relatively small plane compared to what the legacy airlines offer on transatlantic service, but that’s exactly why it works for JetBlue. The airline can sell leisure destinations in Europe without having to fill a larger wide-body jet, allowing it to take advantage of existing demand where it finds a strategic opportunity.

2 inaugural flights on 1 night

With inaugural flights to Madrid and Edinburgh leaving Boston within an hour of each other on Thursday, the airport’s Terminal C was a cacophony of castanets and bagpipes. Themed snacks at both gates offered travelers a preflight treat, and some passengers noted with surprise that they booked the flights for vacation with no idea that there was anything special about them.

On board the flight to Edinburgh, JetBlue offered its standard transatlantic product, which continues to shine as a strong competitor with a unique flair.

On board

Notable on the flight is the way JetBlue balances its top-tier soft product, Mint, with the reality of what people on board probably want: sleep. Both of the new flights from Boston leave late in the evening, with the flight to Edinburgh scheduled for 10:29 p.m.

The airline still offers full transatlantic Mint meal service, a top-tier meal catered in partnership with restaurants from New York’s Delicious Hospitality Group.

But in acknowledgement of the late departure time, the airline offers a limited selection with its “Savor and Sleep” concept — a single menu choice with a few dishes, served all at once, cutting down on the time it would normally take flight attendants to mix and match various meal options, plate everything, and serve courses.

While some may see it as a cop-out to not offer a full menu, the reality is that many people choose to eat before the flight on these short transatlantic hops between the Northeast and Europe — see Delta’s argument for building a sit-down restaurant in its business class lounges.

Everything was delicious, regardless of the selection or the plating — or the fact that, owing to a Nor’easter and a fair bit of turbulence that kept the flight attendants seated for the first hour, dinner was served after midnight on the inaugural.

After an abbreviated night’s sleep, there was a breakfast offering of chia seed pudding, a biscuit, and a wide range of coffees and teas. Not even six hours after departure, we were on the ground in Edinburgh, where this reporter planned to log off and enjoy a long vacation with his family (who tagged along on this inaugural thanks to a stash of TrueBlue points in our family pool).

Some 24 minutes earlier, JetBlue flight 2261 had made its landing in Madrid, marking the airline’s first foray into Spain. It also marked the airline’s first transatlantic route to debut out of BOS rather than John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), where its five previous European destinations launched from.

Hurley suggested that there’s no subtext to read into with that move:

“Where we see the most immediate opportunity is out of Boston, just compared to the competition [to Madrid] that exists today,” she explained. “We’re pointing airplanes to the places where we think we can drive the most profitability.”

Looking ahead

Are these new routes here to stay?

Certainly, JetBlue’s recent network cuts show it’s willing to make changes if they don’t perform, as evidenced by the recent elimination of Boston service to Halifax, Nova Scotia, that would have launched next month.

“With this leadership team, if things aren’t working, they’re going to get cut,” Hurley said, noting it “speaks to the actioning that this leadership team is willing to do to get to profitability.”

But Hurley argued that the company’s far-reaching “JetForward” plan to return JetBlue to profitability has the airline on the right track.

That plan includes new airport lounges at JFK and BOS, which will be accessible to transatlantic passengers flying in the carrier’s Mint cabin.

“All these changes are still maturing,” Hurley acknowledged. “But the headline is, we believe it’s the right strategy. We have the proof points to show that it’s working.”

How to book JetBlue with points and miles

Travelers hoping to book JetBlue’s new flights to Europe with points and miles have a few options.

Beyond flying with JetBlue and earning points by spending on a cobranded credit card, you can transfer rewards from several major issuers to the TrueBlue program. Some good TrueBlue transfer partners include:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards — points transfer to JetBlue at a 1:1 ratio.
• Citi ThankYou Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio for some cardholders, including those with the Citi Prestige (no longer available) and Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees), and at a 5:4 ratio for some other cardholders.
• American Express Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles transfer at a 5:3 ratio.

Bottom line

JetBlue’s European venture was a long time in the making when it finally launched in 2021, but it’s one that the airline insists has been successful and is here to stay. And if this completely full Thursday night flight to Edinburgh was any indication, JetBlue knows what it’s doing on this front.

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