Summary

  • JetBlue’s shortest flights are in Massachusetts and between Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
  • Shortest flight is only 68 miles long and takes 35-53 minutes.
  • JetBlue plans to phase out Embraer 190 in favor of Airbus A220 to save $100 million.

JetBlue is a low-cost American airline operating flights to over 100 domestic and international destinations. Most of JetBlue’s international destinations are holiday destinations in the US near abroad, like the Caribbean and Central America (it also has a limited number of flights to Europe). But what are the shortest flights operated by JetBlue? The three shortest flights operated by JetBlue include two in Massachusetts and one in the Caribbean.

Massachusetts with two shortest flights

JetBlue’s second-shortest flight is from Martha’s Vineyard Airport (located on the island of Martha’s Vineyard) to Boston Logan. This route is only 70 miles and takes 40-55 minutes. Cape Air also serves this route. While JetBlue typically only has one daily flight on this route, Cape Air has two to four flights. JetBlue also operates this flight with an Embraer 190.

A JetBlue aircraft taking off

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

The third-shortest flight operated by JetBlue is from Nantucket Memorial Airport, located on the south side of the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, to Boston Logan International Airport. Boston Logan is the busiest airport in the Northeast outside of the New York metropolitan area. The distance between Nantucket and Boston is only 91 miles, and Cape Air also serves it.

The flight time from Nantucket to Boston is less than one hour (between 48 and 58 minutes) and is served by an Embraer 190. Going forward, JetBlue is planning to save $100 million by phasing out the Embraer 190 in favor of the Airbus A220.

It makes sense that JetBlue’s shortest flights are over water, where aircraft enjoy a massive advantage over ferries. For comparison, it takes over an hour to drive from downtown Boston to the ferry at Hyannis and then the high-speed ferry crossing takes another hour.

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Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico

JetBlue Airbus A320-232 (N503JB) first aircraft.

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

JetBlue’s shortest flight is in the US Virgin Islands. It runs from the Cyril E. King Airport on the island of St. Thomas to the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport at San Juan on the island of Puerto Rico. This route (serviced by an Airbus A320) is only 68 miles long and takes 35 to 53 minutes. Google Flights lists JetBlue’s flights as taking 50-53 minutes and Cape Air and Silver Airways as taking 35 minutes.

JetBlue’s competition on this route includes Cape Air and Silver Airways. That means that Cape Air is competing with JetBlue on all three of JetBlue’s shortest routes. Cape Air is headquartered at Cape Cod Gateway Airport and operates flights in the Northeast, Caribbean, Midwest, and Eastern Montana.

Separately, JetBlue is reported to have been boosting flights to Puerto Rico to counter rising competition by rival Frontier (another US low-cost carrier) in the region.

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