Miami - JetBlue Airways (B6) today kicked off a much-awaited service at Miami-International Airport (MIA) with Airways in attendance.
Festivity greeted travelers and media alike with balloons at the check-in area and gate along with smooth music coming from a DJ as B6 also celebrated 21 years as an airline today.
While the inaugural flight faced a delay of about an hour due to weather in Newark (EWR), the atmosphere in the airport was still upbeat as a press conference began.
Time for a New Airline
Lester Sola, the CEO of MIA and Deniella Levine-Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade Country, both hailed the arrival of B6, especially the economic benefits in terms of jobs created and new tourists arriving in Miami-Dade Country.
"It was time" said County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, who openly professed the need to further B6 service from MIA to "Puerto Rico too, we need some islands in the Caribbean" before leading a chorus of officials and reporters in singing happy birthday to B6.
Board of County Commissioners Chairman Jose "Pepe" Diaz and Country Commissioner Sally Heyman and Chair of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau Bill Talbert all spoke heralding the new service, which includes up to 14 daily flights to EWR, New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), and Los Angeles (LAX).
David Clark, Vice President of Sales and Network planning at B6, confirmed that the premium Mint product will be operated on flights to LAX while all flights have free high speed internet, free direct television, and the most legroom in coach of "any US airline."
Before a ceremonial ribbon cutting, Clark also emphasized the "Safety from the Ground Up" program to ensure that passengers and crews remain safe from COVID-19 on B6 flights.
A Spectacular Salute
Airways was then treated to a water cannon salute of flight 2295 from EWR operated by an Airbus A320-232 with the "Inspiring Humanity Liver" as it taxied into the appropriately named gate E21, the friendly First Officer even made a quick wave to the media by quickly turning his window wiper on and off!
JetBlue Airways also inaugurated service to Key West (EYW) today, furthering a Floridian presence that began with the first B6 flight to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) 21 years ago.
Laying a solid foundation at MIA< B6 could eventually branch out to service destinations including San Juan (SJU) and Ponce (PSE) or perhaps even further afield to Lima (LIM) and Bogotá (BOG) in South America, nevertheless the people of Miami-Dade County now have access to a new airline, bringing new fares and options to popular destinations.
.avif)