[texastarkus]

JetBlue may add flights to D.C., Mexico from Austin
By Brian Gaar | Friday, July 9, 2010, 12:17 PM
JetBlue is looking at adding flights from Austin to Washington, D.C., and Cancun, Mexico, according to the company’s chief executive, who was in Austin today.
CEO David Barger stopped in town as part of a visit to all of the airline’s 61 cities — meeting staff and celebrating the company’s 10th anniversary.
The Forest Hills, N.Y.-based airline will expand to 63 cities by year’s end, adding Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Conn., he said.
“At some point, we want to take a look at adding more frequency and adding more cities, as well, to Austin,” he said.
The airline is the sixth-largest carrier at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which it has served since January 2006.
JetBlue flies to six cities from Austin: Boston; Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla.; New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport; and San Francisco and Long Beach, Calif.
Its most popular flight is to New York, at three flights at day, Barger said. As part of his trip, Barger visited six cities last week in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.
“I kid you not, in Seattle, in Portland, in places like San Jose, (people asked) ‘When are you going to add service to Austin?” he said.
The company has steadily grown in Austin — starting with four flights and about 220,000 passengers in 2006. Last year, it served more than 426,000 passengers, according to Jason Zielinski, an ABIA spokesman.
Barger said there are no concrete timetables on the possible flights to D.C. or Mexico. Part of the company’s access to Washington depends on government allowing further access into Reagan National Airport — but that could happen later in the year.
As for Mexico, the airline is having discussions about the possibility, Barger said.
“Austin-Cancun sounds pretty natural to me,” he said. “Plus, from our perspective, it’s only a two-hour flight.”
ABIA currently has a nonstop flight to D.C. available on United Airlines, Zielinski said. Cancun is a seasonal nonstop that runs from June 2 through August 7 on Sun Country Airlines, he said.--=-=-=-
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/conte..._at_possibly.h