American airline jetBlue has announced its fifth transatlantic destination. From now until 30 September, the carrier will operate daily flights between New York and Edinburgh. Scotland’s capital thereby joins JetBlue’s other European destinations – Amsterdam, London, Paris and Dublin.
The new connection will be serviced on an Airbus A321neo aircraft, which has 16 Mint Suites and 144 economy seats. The seasonal daily flights will leave New York’s JFK airport at 9:12 am, local time, and arrive in Edinburgh at 9:30 am, local time, the following day. The return leg will leave at 12:30 pm and land at JFK at 3:06 pm.
The new route puts jetBlue in direct competition with Delta Airlines, who already flies between JFK and Edinburgh, and United Airlines, who flies between Newark and Edinburgh.
“JetBlue introduces low fares and excellent service in markets previously dominated by high-fare legacy carriers. We are eager to bring our award-winning Mint and core service to Edinburgh, connecting Scotland with the Northeast this summer”, JetBlue President, Marty St. George, said in a statement.
The launch isn’t just a big step for JetBlue, but also for the Scottish tourism industry. The direct route will make it easier for both Americans and Scots to visit each other’s countries.Being the UK’s second most visited tourist destination after London, Edinburgh and its surroundings have a lot to offer to both history fanatics and nature lovers.
“Our relationship with the US is a special one. We welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors to Scotland and the wider UK from North America every year and it’s also our top export market. This new direct JetBlue route from Edinburgh to New York City will really help strengthen links between our two great countries”, John Lamont, UK Government Minister for Scotland, commented on the launch.
