Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

JetBlue says they're expanding to 10 new U.S. cities this year. Could IND be one of them? I think it's a strong possibility. There's still a lot of room at IND to fill in the holes left when TZ pulled out. It'd be great to have the flight to JFK, which is the presumption if B6 adds IND service of any kind. But I'd really love to see a flight to Long Beach from here.

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

I'd definately agree on B6 adding IND. I believe we have been on their short list for a year or two now.

Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

I figure the cities they're looking at for service with the 190's are mid-sized ones, and Neeleman has publicly stated that the Midwest is his focus. So I figure IND, MCI, BNA, OMA, MKE, CMH, OKC, DSM, GRR, and possibly SDF. At least for the Midwest possibilities. Beyond that, I've got to imagine they're looking pretty hard at SAT, RDU, MSP, STL, and we already know they're looking for 3 contiguous gates at ORD.

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

When you say focus do you mean that he wants to add midwest destinations or that he wants to set up a focus operation much like what NW currently has here?

Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

No, he said focus in the normal sense of the word. That is, he wants to fill in the giant Midwest gap in his route map.

That's not to say there couldn't be another "key city" for Jet Blue located in the Midwest. In fact, there probably will be. Look at their route map:

http://www.jetblue.com/travelinfo/routemap.asp

and you'll see what I mean.

If he could ever get the gates at ORD, that would certainly be a key city. But there have been several articles mentioning Jet Blue's difficulty getting Chicago slots - and that they want ORD, not MDW.

I could also see MSP as a key city, but he might have trouble getting gates there as well, as he'd want to be in the Lindbergh terminal and not stuck over in the Humphrey.

But I'm not sure if IND would ever be a B6 "key city." They'd be serving IND with the 190's, not with the 320's, with the possible exception of adding service from IND to a west coast destination (probably OAK and/or Long Beach).

Member

Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 333
Location: St. Louis, MO

I totally support a theory that JetBlue could be eyeing Indianapolis.

There's gaps to

1. Orlando
2. Tampa
3. Ft. Myers
4. Las Vegas
5. Oakland
6. Los Angeles market

That's 6 flights not including any service they would toss in from New York Kennedy Airport.

7. Potential JFK

I don't know if they would do Long Beach, per se, given the slot restrictions on the airport, but a splash to Ontario or Burbank is possible.

Then there is the potential

8. second Orlando flight

9. second Las Vegas flight

10. Ft. Lauderdale flight.

11 & 12 & 13 are long shots, but there is potential to do traffic to Seattle, San Diego, and Phoenix.


There you have it, a scenario of potential 13 flights. The landing rates at Indianapolis are good, airlines all across the board usually post great load factors, look at the splash Northwest made, AirTran has made, etc. There are available facilities in ample check in counter space, the airport is close to downtown, the airport facilities are still quite nice and the new terminal is on its way.

If/when a JetBlue announcement comes, I doubt we'll see just one or two flights announced. I predict at least six daily flights to at least three or four cities with more to follow.

If they are serious, they'd better hurry up and act fast before AirTran wisens up and starts plugging more flights in and out of there and takes up some of the available gate and counter space.


As for the other ten cities, I doubt all of them will be in the midwest.

1. Miami is almost a given

2. Charlotte is long rumored

3. Bermuda hype

4. Montego Bay
5. Cancun
6. Cozumel
7. Grand Cayman

--a few other caribbean destinations in the least for vacation travelers.

8. For something completely different, Toronto.

9. insert here

10. insert here

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

If the price was right I'd take a day trip on jetBlue just to see how good it really is. I still need to do the same for Frontier.

Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

I flew Frontier once, but just on the connection flight to/from DEN run by Great Lakes. Beechcraft props from DEN-EAR (Kearney, NE) and from GRI (Grand Island, NE) -DEN. So it's not a good indicator of the mainline service.

I have to fly to SAN in April; thinking about taking DL to JFK and then B6 for the JFK-SAN leg. Don't know if it'll work out as the company has guidelines I have to follow. We'll see...

Member

Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 333
Location: St. Louis, MO

You think AirTran's announcement of service to Los Angeles and San Francisco might thwart a potential start up?

Discuss, ladies!

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

No idea. But if FL ramps up service much more over the next 6 months like I suspect they might it could very well keep B6 out. I am thinking they will make a preemptive move to keep B6 out and that will be an increase in service large enough to pick up 2 free gates in concourse C which would pretty much kill B6 chances. The rumor I had seen posted was something like 33 flights a day which would justify 4 gates. With this latest schedule change FL will be nearly half way there.

Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

I was just thinking the same thing last night after the news on FL to SFO and LAX. BTW - it's worth noticing that the only two cities FL flies to from SFO and LAX are ATL and IND.

Does anyone know for sure if FL is taking the other two gates? I would think that BAA would have given B6 a "put-up-or-shut-up" on those gates by now, if they had an offer from FL on them. And I would think CO (which used to have 3 gates in C, now only 2) would be interested in leasing back one of those gates to keep B6 out, since they've now started to compete with CO directly at EWR).

But yes, I do think if FL gets on it and ramps up service here, it makes B6 look elsewhere before they come to IND - even with the ER7's. I'm not convinced IND would have made the first cut on B6's expansion list anyway; would think STL, CVG, MSP, maybe even CLE and DTW would be their first targets, unless they really feel they need some non-hub midwest beachheads before they take on the big boys. I'm still hoping they come, though, and give us JFK service on the ER7 and Long Beach service on the A319.

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

I feel pretty confident that FL will be taking those two additional gates as well as the rest of ATA's ticket counters. The person that gave me the heads up about the CEO coming to IND also told me that we'd be up over 30 flights a day by the end of 2006. I think the number of destinations I was told about was 15 but can't swear to it. I couldn't figure where the high number came from. But after yesterday it makes more sense.

Member

Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 333
Location: St. Louis, MO

I strongly think Indianapolis is a viable contender for JetBlue service as long as the counter space and those two gates remain available. BTW, are all of the gates in D Concourse being used, too? There, too, remains a possibility.

I don't think Cleveland would serve of interest to JetBlue given not just the carrier service at Cleveland, but Akron/Canton lurking right next door.

And I am not sure if there is any space for them in the A Concourse...I know there's at least one empty gate since Indy Air is now gone. I think Detroit has little or no room for a potential carrier to come in until the new terminal is built. Cincinnati might be possible, and I doubt Minneapolis is possible since JetBlue wants to serve the main terminal and not the charter terminal. This of course, so his airline can be seen by all who are coming and going from MSP, I suppose.

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

D is full with UA, US and AC. I think FL will grab those remaining gates in C. If the rumors I heard are true they will need the space. There has been an empty ticket counter on the A side of the terminal for a while now. They might grab that and perhaps do what HP did when they were in C and share a gate with Midwest Express or whatever they are called.