JetBlue to quit Columbus

By The Columbus Dispatch  • 

JetBlue Airways said today it will end operations in Columbus as of Jan. 6. The airline, which is retrenching after an aggressive period of expansion, blamed lower-than-expected profitability for the pullout.

The announcement came almost exactly one year after Port Columbus greeted JetBlue with a water cannon salute and a visit from Jack Hanna and his animal entourage. At that event early last October, Hanna joked that "you can't fly to Zanesville, Ohio" for the $39 one-way promotional fare the airline charged for some of its initial flights to New York and Boston.

That was apparently a major factor in JetBlue's undoing here. Passengers liked JetBlue's service and responded to low-fare sales, but the airline wasn't able to charge enough for tickets on average to turn a solid profit.

"We were actually seeing some decent load factors," said spokesman Bryan Baldwin, using the common industry term for the percentage of seats that are filled on a plane. "The thing that wasn't panning out was that we weren't able to sell those seats at the prices we thought we would. I think that really only became apparent recently."

Baldwin said those who have purchased tickets for flights through Port Columbus after Jan. 6 should contact the airline. Customers will receive a refund or can choose to be re-accommodated on Delta for domestic flights, he said.