JetBlue Airways will terminate its daily Embraer service between San Juan (SJU) and St. Croix in three months, on Jan. 8, according to the Department of Tourism.
“Despite connecting traffic from the mainland U.S. and via San Juan, JetBlue’s 100-seat aircraft has proven to be larger than necessary for this particular market,” read a JetBlue memo to the V.I. Department of Tourism. “Additionally, JetBlue customers will still be able to book flights to and from St. Croix through the airline’s codeshare agreements with partner airlines, Cape Air and Seaborne Airlines, who offer up to a half dozen daily flights via San Juan,” the statement continued.
“We are disappointed but we understand the contributing factors that led to JetBlue’s decision,” Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty said in a statement about the change.
“JetBlue shared that the flights’ poor performance extended over a two-year period. They cited total revenue, load factors and better opportunities for utilization of the aircraft in other markets based on their forecasts.”
Nicholson-Doty said she remains encouraged that JetBlue will continue to sell St. Croix via its codeshare partners and that the airline is committed to exploring the potential of new nonstop flights from the U.S. mainland to St. Croix for the 2019-2020 winter season.
“Continued dialogue is especially important with the return of newly refreshed rooms to our accommodations landscape as well as the demand for air seats with the increased business activity we are seeing at the Limetree Bay Terminals facility.”
Despite the loss of San Juan service, St. Croix winter air capacity continues to be strong from the U.S. mainland, she said.
