JAX/JIA updates

[Steve]

Isn't there only room for one new lounge in Concourse B (which would presumably be an Admirals Club)? If The Club was going away this whole time were they planning to go away for good?

No, the two lounges will be right at the entrance of Concourse B, upstairs from basically where the food court is now. One will be The Club, the other will be a relocated and expanded Delta SkyClub (JAA has confirmed both of them). Space-wise, it's basically at the confluence of all three concourses so easy access to all three.

AA nor JAA has announced an Admiral's Club. Remember, while they're going to take 5 gates, it's a net increase of 1 (they have 4 now).

[SirJax]

Airport and city officials broke ground this morning on the $340 million Concourse B:

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2024/05/10/concourse-b-2026-arrival.html

American Airlines will use 5 of the 6 gates when the new concourse opens in 2026.

Just wanted to note that the actual (vs. ceremonial) concourse B groundbreaking took place a couple weeks ago when they finally started tearing up the old ramp pavement where the previous concourse B used to be. The JAA claims the project will wrap up in 16 months or less. Personally, I'm a bit skeptical of this timeline but I guess we'll see.

[Steve]

If there's any project they need to speed up...it's the new garage! Going to be very painful during construction.

[thelakelander]

The garage should be underway soon. Last week, there were sign/barricades on the parking lot, announcing its closure in a week or two.

[Zac T]

JIA will be a true international airport once again with nonstop service to Toronto starting next year

Five years after Air Canada bid adieu to Jacksonville, the airline is returning to Jacksonville International Airport with nonstop service to Toronto Pearson International Airport.

In a Sept. 12 release, JIA announced that the new Air Canada Express route would launch on May 22, 2025. According to the Air Canada website, that flight is from Toronto.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2024/sep/12/air-canada-returning-to-jacksonville-with-nonstop-service-to-toronto/

[jaxlongtimer]

JetBlue dropping Jax- Ft. Laurderdale flights.  In today's world, I find it quicker to drive this connection, myself.  Haven't figured the demand for this flight unless transferring in Ft. Lauderdale to other destinations.  Miami makes more sense given the greater number of international connections there and added travel time due to traffic between FTL and MIA.

JetBlue cuts more unprofitable routes, tweaks Europe flights

....JetBlue said it will cut flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Jacksonville, Florida; from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Austin, Texas; Houston, Texas; Miami; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and from Westchester, N.Y. and Milwaukee. It will also end service to San Jose, California....

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/04/jetblue-cuts-routes-europe-flights.html

[Steve]

JetBlue dropping Jax- Ft. Laurderdale flights.  In today's world, I find it quicker to drive this connection, myself.  Haven't figured the demand for this flight unless transferring in Ft. Lauderdale to other destinations.  Miami makes more since given the greater number of international connections there and added travel time due to traffic between FTL and MIA.

JetBlue cuts more unprofitable routes, tweaks Europe flights

....JetBlue said it will cut flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Jacksonville, Florida; from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Austin, Texas; Houston, Texas; Miami; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and from Westchester, N.Y. and Milwaukee. It will also end service to San Jose, California....

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/04/jetblue-cuts-routes-europe-flights.html

To your point, since MIA is an American hub and also gateway for a lot of international carriers air makes sense to there.

I think the rest of Florida is probably best served by rail. Even if Jax-Ft. Lauderdale was 4 hours, it would be worth it and WAY easier than flying.

As Brightline expands it would be nice for some friendly competition between them and Amtrak.

[CityLife]

JetBlue dropping Jax- Ft. Laurderdale flights.  In today's world, I find it quicker to drive this connection, myself.  Haven't figured the demand for this flight unless transferring in Ft. Lauderdale to other destinations.  Miami makes more since given the greater number of international connections there and added travel time due to traffic between FTL and MIA.

JetBlue cuts more unprofitable routes, tweaks Europe flights

....JetBlue said it will cut flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Jacksonville, Florida; from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Austin, Texas; Houston, Texas; Miami; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and from Westchester, N.Y. and Milwaukee. It will also end service to San Jose, California....

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/04/jetblue-cuts-routes-europe-flights.html

I'm sure that flight is only there because FLL is a hub for Jet Blue. Jet Blue has a limited presence at MIA and has a lot of domestic flights from PBI, but no international. There are direct Jet Blue flights from FLL to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Nassau, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ecuador, Cancun, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Jax must have not had enough people flying to those places to continue the direct flight.

[Steve]

Well I mean JetBlue has been steadily reducing flights at FLL.....but JetBlue is now the third carrier to not make JAX-FLL work. My point was more about that market in general.

[jaxoNOLE]

JetBlue dropping Jax- Ft. Laurderdale flights.  In today's world, I find it quicker to drive this connection, myself.  Haven't figured the demand for this flight unless transferring in Ft. Lauderdale to other destinations.  Miami makes more since given the greater number of international connections there and added travel time due to traffic between FTL and MIA.

JetBlue cuts more unprofitable routes, tweaks Europe flights

....JetBlue said it will cut flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Jacksonville, Florida; from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Austin, Texas; Houston, Texas; Miami; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and from Westchester, N.Y. and Milwaukee. It will also end service to San Jose, California....

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/04/jetblue-cuts-routes-europe-flights.html

I'm sure that flight is only there because FLL is a hub for Jet Blue. Jet Blue has a limited presence at MIA and has a lot of domestic flights from PBI, but no international. There are direct Jet Blue flights from FLL to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Nassau, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ecuador, Cancun, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Jax must have not had enough people flying to those places to continue the direct flight.

JetBlue used to be our go-to out of JAX, but since COVID, even their Northeast destinations increasingly required connections through FLL. E.g., you might get one direct flight option to BOS and 2 that connect via FLL. This seems likely to severely limit possible end destinations for JetBlue out of JAX.

[jaxlongtimer]

25 years ago, FLL was the south Florida hub for Southwest and they had 7 roundtrip flights a day between JAX and FLL.  I just checked for flights from JAX to FLL and, after removing JetBlue, didn't find a single nonstop on any airline.  Quite a change over time.

[thelakelander]

With a former employer, we used to do the JAX-FLL for quick day meetings with clients in South Florida.  It was pretty convenient for that purpose.

[Steve]

Now, I just noticed that FLL is a Spirit hub. If Spirit circles the drain like is expected, then I think we could see a reshuffling of that market.

[jaxlongtimer]

This new plane might bode well at some point for JIA to attract more international flights from further away, such as Europe.

How the Airbus A321XLR is changing the air map of the world

.....The new flight to Nashville from Dublin is possible with a new, longer-range plane from Airbus: the A321XLR, or "Extra Long Range."

The derivative of the popular A321neo that debuted in 2017 can fly further than any other single-aisle plane on the market. Airbus also says it burns 30% less fuel per seat than previous-generation aircraft.

"It allows us to go to cities that we would not be able to take the risk on with a wide-body," said Reid Moody, chief strategy and planning officer at Aer Lingus, referring to the twin-aisle aircraft such as the Airbus A330 or Boeing 787 that are common on transatlantic flights....

https://www.cnn.com/travel/airbus-a321xlr-single-aisle-plane-transatlantic/index.html

[Steve]

Some good things for JAX:

1. Getting TSA's Touchless ID in the Spring: https://www.travelandleisure.com/tsa-touchless-id-coming-to-more-airports-11881930 . If you haven't used it, total game changer at the big hubs like ATL and JFK.
2. Return of The Club JAX and a (badly needed) larger Delta SkyClub coming. Both will be at the base of the Concourse B Extension so easy access to all gates.
3. AA is taking either 5 or 6 of the 6 new gates in Concourse B which is moving along and is supposed to open by the end of 2026. Now, unless they're planning on making JAX a Focus City (which I'd be shocked by), this is a net increase of 1 or 2 gates (they have 4 today). Curious who else picks up gates since even if AA takes all 6, that leaves 4 more not immediately spoken for.
4. New Garage is taking shape (thank God). Will be finished sometime in 2026. Of note, it's not so much a third garage, but it's going to be, in practice, an expansion on the existing garage. I should have taken pics when I was there Thursday, but you can see how the existing daily garage ramp structure will connect to both the existing and new garage.