JetBlue launches New York-Amsterdam route today; CEO wants more competition at Schiphol

JetBlue launched service to and from the Netherlands on Wednesday, with the American budget airline’s first airplane landing at Schiphol Airport at about 9:15 a.m. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes was on the 7.5 hour flight, which departed from Kennedy Airport in New York City. Speaking afterwards, Hayes argued that there must be enough room for competition between airlines operating at Schiphol Airport, even when the Dutch government reduces the maximum number of flight movements there.

“New airlines have to be added. It isn’t good if only one airline remains, and there is little competition,” he said.

A court ruling recently gave the Dutch government permission to proceed with its plan to decrease the number of flights from Schiphol to reduce noise pollution for local residents. Under this plan, the Amsterdam airport will be required to cut the number of flights from 500,000 to 460,000 for the 2023-2024 travel season, with a further reduction of 20,000 flights planned for 2025. Several airlines appealed to the Supreme Court against the plan.

Despite these cutbacks, JetBlue became the newest airline to operate at Schiphol. Starting from Wednesday, JetBlue will offer daily flights between Schiphol and New York. Next month, a daily route between Schiphol and Boston will be added.

Schiphol is JetBlue's third European destination, following London and Paris, where it began operations this summer. "We expect to perform as well in Amsterdam as we have in Paris," Hayes stated. The Airbus A321 aircraft that JetBlue uses for its route to the Netherlands can accommodate 134 passengers.

Other airlines currently flying between Schiphol and the United States include KLM, Delta, and American Airlines. Hayes explained that JetBlue stands out for its lower prices compared to its competitors. He also noted that Schiphol was chosen as a new European destination due to strong demand for affordable flights from the two American cities to Amsterdam.

While Hayes expressed hope for increasing the number of flights between Schiphol and the United States in the future, he mentioned that securing slots at Schiphol is more challenging than at other destinations.

JetBlue is a low-budget airline with more than a hundred destinations. In addition to the United States and Europe, the airline also flies to Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The flight from Amsterdam back to JFK departed close to 1:45 p.m.