"JetBlue in Palm Springs? Here's what they had to say"

Thursday, May 10, 2007

JetBlue in Palm Springs? Here's what they had to say
By Michael Perrault
The Palm Springs (CA) Desert Sun


JetBlue Airways serves 52 cities with 575-plus daily flights.

So when will the low-fare airline touch down in the valley?

"Palm Springs is an interesting market for us, but at this time we don't
have anything to announce," said Alison Eshelman, JetBlue Airways Corp.'s
manager of corporate communications. "We're always looking for new routes to
add, and at this point in our growth we haven't ruled anything out."

Officials at Palm Springs International Airport have talked with New
York-based JetBlue, but they expect it could be awhile before the
seven-year-old carrier expands to regional markets.

"We continue to talk to all interested parties, and JetBlue is one of the
airlines we've talked to," said Brian Kidd, assistant director of aviation
for the Palm Springs airport. "We keep selling our case, and hopefully at
some point we'll have a willing suitor at the other end."

Eshelman said JetBlue has "no immediate growth plans to announce for
additional service in California," other than four daily flights it added
earlier this month to the San Francisco Bay Area.

JetBlue announced on May 3 that it was spreading its wings in the Bay Area,
launching four daily flights to New York City and one daily flight to Boston
from San Francisco International Airport. Fares between San Francisco and
New York City/JFK start at $164 each way through June 13, officials said.

When JetBlue considers new markets, it generally focuses on those with high
average fares, company officials said.

JetBlue's West Coast operations are based at Long Beach Municipal Airport.
It launched its first flights between JFK airport and Ontario on July 2000.

Should the airline decide more flights are needed to service the Los Angeles
area, expansion could take place at LA/Ontario International Airport,
Burbank and possibly San Diego, JetBlue Founder David Neeleman told
shareholders Wednesday during a meeting that can now be viewed on Webcast at
the airline's Web site jetblue.com.

On Thursday, JetBlue said its President David Barger would take on the
additional role of chief executive, effectively taking the controls from
Neeleman, who will become non-executive chairman.

JetBlue's niche has been offering low fares while at the same time providing
generous legroom, snacks such as "Terra Blue" chips, and plenty of
entertainment options such as free satellite TV and radio.

The airline, which carried 18.5 million passengers in 1006, has new 100-seat
Embraer 190 jets to service mid-sized markets, and in January it began
removing a row of seats from its Airbus A320 jets to offer more room.

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