Geraghty referred to both setbacks in her conversation with publicist Geri Denterlein, on stage at the chamber meeting.
“We continue to grow Boston again and again, … reestablishing our presence here,” Geraghty said. “Our transactions that we did not pass muster with the Department of Justice, they set us back a bit in terms of our growth plans for Boston. But you know, we’re very, very focused on returning to our path, pre-COVID, with Boston.”
JetBlue’s daily departures out of Logan are close to where they were in 2019, per numbers provided by the company. That year, JetBlue had an average of 150 daily departures out of Boston, and peaked at just over 170. This month, JetBlue is averaging 146.

But the passenger count, as provided by the Massachusetts Port Authority, has not recovered as quickly. While Logan’s overall passenger traffic recently passed pre-pandemic levels, JetBlue’s is still lagging. In January, JetBlue’s passenger count in Boston cleared 777,000, up from 721,000 a year earlier, but a far cry from the 903,000 reported in January 2020. Local passenger numbers at Delta, JetBlue’s biggest rival at Logan, by comparison rose from 603,000 in January 2020 to 703,000 in January 2024, and more than 736,000 in January of this year.
And when it come to the question of who is Logan’s busiest carrier, JetBlue has a bigger market share in the winter, mainly because of its seasonal Caribbean flights, but Delta takes the lead in the summer months, per a Massport spokesperson, and generally has the edge year-round now.
Geraghty pointed to strong growth ahead in Boston, including a 15 percent increase year-over-year in seats sold for the April-June quarter. She said she knows the airline needs to improve its on-time performance. Geraghty and Denterlein also discussed a few of JetBlue’s new Logan routes. JetBlue in January announced it will have 77 nonstop destinations from Boston, more than Delta (or any other airline), once a bevy of summer seasonal routes are included.
New European destinations include Madrid and Edinburgh, launching in May, and flights will begin between Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia, in June. New seasonal US flights for Boston include daily trips to Wilmington, N.C., Islip, N.Y., and Norfolk, Va., all starting later this spring. JetBlue is also working on a new 11,000-square-foot lounge at Terminal C.
To bolster her local cred, Geraghty also referred to her top lieutenant, JetBlue president Marty St. George, a South Boston resident. She recruited St. George back to JetBlue around the time she was promoted to the CEO’s role in early 2024.
“My president, sometimes we need an interpreter for him,” she said, “he’s so Boston.”
This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston’s business scene.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.