JetBlue starts 2016 with expansion to Florida and the Caribbean. Cuba and Mexico beckon

JetBlue is playing to its network strengths in early 2016, adding flights from the Northeast to Florida and leveraging its position in Fort Lauderdale to broaden its reach into the Caribbean. It is a formula that worked well for the airline in 2015. JetBlue outperformed the industry in passenger unit revenues, and remains confident of posting a similar performance in 2016.

The airline has been working over the last few years to balance out its passenger mix, courting more business travellers to smooth out the seasonality inherent in leisure and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) passenger segments. JetBlue's new route additions in late 2015, and early 2016, also show the importance that non-business travellers retain in its network.

JetBlue is eying new frontiers in Cuba and in Mexico due to recent changes in US air services agreements with those countries. They are two important markets for JetBlue as it works to broaden its international sphere and, with Cuba in particular, to solidify a leading position in the Caribbean.