JetBlue to resume service from Syracuse to Fort Lauderdale

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) will once again offer its seasonal air service from Syracuse to Fort Lauderdale, Florida beginning in January.

The service will include daily, nonstop flights beginning Jan. 13, 2016 and continuing through May 1, the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority said in a news release issued Monday.

The low-cost air carrier had previously offered the flights from Syracuse Hancock International Airport until it stopped the service in January 2009, as part of service cuts it made companywide to deal with high fuel costs at the time.

The decision to resume the flights early next year follows a “push” from U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) for the airline to increase its low-cost service options for passengers in Central New York.

JetBlue is the second airline to bring service to Fort Lauderdale from Syracuse, according to the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority.

Allegiant Air, a unit of Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ: ALGT), started offering service to Fort Lauderdale in February.

“We would like to thank Sen. Schumer and JetBlue for their continued investment in our airport and community,” Christina Callahan, executive director of Syracuse Hancock International Airport, said in the news release. “As one of our top leisure destinations, our customers will now have even more options to Florida, and with the number of connections out of Fort Lauderdale and its port, the JetBlue network provides easy access to the Caribbean and South America.”

The Syracuse Regional Airport Authority won’t provide JetBlue any financial incentives to resume the Fort Lauderdale route because it previously offered the service from Hancock Airport, Callahan said in response to a BJNN email inquiry.

However, she has discussed “marketing co-op possibilities” with JetBlue but “nothing has been finalized,” Callahan added in her email response.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com