With all the developments in the transatlantic aviation market over the past few years, it's interesting to note that the United States has yet to provide a new entrant. It's true that the big three U.S. airlines are dominant, especially in the long-haul market, but Europe has its fair share of legacy carriers, too, and that hasn't stopped European upstarts like Norwegian, Wow Air, and Primera Air from having a go.
Maybe the issue lies elsewhere then. For JetBlue, the sixth largest U.S. airline, there's certainly a desire to offer flights to Europe. The problem at the moment is there isn't a plane on the market that quite fits the bill. On paper, the Airbus A321LR would be a worthy candidate but its range limits the number of destinations available. Airbus is reportedly thinking about building an A321XLR, and this might be a better bet.
But even with access to longer-range aircraft, the numbers will still have to add up for JetBlue executives. "We would balance flying to one of these markets against other opportunities we have in our network," CEO Robin Hayes said. "It's really going to be about, which options drive the best return? We are not emotional about just flying to London or Paris just for the sake of saying we fly to Europe."
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