JetBlue Celebrates 20 Years Of Service At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

JetBlue Airways
commemorated 20 years of service at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
on Tuesday. While taking up only a small portion of flights in the Valley of the Sun, the carrier has stayed committed with year-round service from its New York mainstay.

Over the last two decades, Phoenix has grown exponentially, which has positively impacted the aviation scene. Throughout its tenure, JetBlue has added service to two other East Coast destinations, offering more choices for Phonecians.

It all started on October 1st

Nonstop flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
and PHX officially commenced on October 1, 2004. The carrier deployed one of its Airbus A320s, titled “Blue Skies Ahead,” for the inaugural flight. According to Planespotters.net, the aircraft, registered N589JB, had only been with JetBlue for a few months, having been delivered in June 2004. It still flies today.

During that time, the carrier exclusively operated A320s. It was the launch customer of the Embraer E190, but did not take deliveries of the aircraft until 2005. Additionally, the E190s have only operated on the East Coast and have never been deployed in the West. As such, JetBlue would go on to solely operate the JFK-PHX route with daily frequencies on the A320 for about six years.

Introduction of BOS & FLL

By 2011, the airline added nonstop flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
. Then, in 2013, the A321 was introduced, becoming the largest aircraft in its fleet. Select aircraft were also equipped with its now well-renowned Mint class, but the routes the aircraft were utilized on excluded PHX.

JetBlue only served PHX from JFK and BOS until 2018. That year, the carrier commenced flights from Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
. It has been common for the airline to offer daily flights on the JFK-PHX and BOS-PHX routes, but FLL’s operation has been a bit more sparse. The airline typically schedules westbound flights during the evening while the eastbound frequencies are redeyes.

JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 departing from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

Terminal 3 has always been the home of JetBlue at PHX. For years, the terminal consisted of two concourses – one on the north side and one on the south side. However, more recently, PHX executed a significant overhaul of the terminal and demolished nearby Terminal 2, where United Airlines operated out of. Terminal 3 now comprises 25 gates, with JetBlue’s designation at the south concourse. The airline shares the facility with Allegiant Air, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, and Delta Air Lines. The north concourse houses United, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Breeze Airways.

Hello, Mint!

From 2004 to 2020, JetBlue only deployed the A320 to PHX. In 2021, the A321s began to operate from Boston and New York, but they were non-Mint versions of the aircraft. In 2022, the airline also started scheduling flights to and from Boston on the A220-300.

After two decades of service,

JetBlue will finally bring Mint service to PHX from all three cities
. According to aviation data and analytics provider Cirium, Mint flights from FLL will commence on October 25th, while service from BOS and JFK will begin on October 27th.

By November, all flights on the BOS-PHX and JFK-PHX routes will feature Mint. Only some flights between FLL and PHX will have Mint, but not all. Data shows that A320 will still handle some flights on the route for the remainder of the year.

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