Shake-up expected for JetBlue's Long Beach Focus City
15 January 2020 By Seth Miller 24 Comments
A JetBlue A320 parked at the gate in Long Beach
JetBlue's struggles at its Long Beach focus city are no secret. The carrier pushed to expand at the southern California airport a few times over the past decade but faced challenges at the airport with operations limited and unwillingness by the local community to expand the airport's operations. JetBlue wanted to see international service added but plans to build a customs and immigration facility were scuttled after pushback from locals. Most recently the carrier cut its flights at Long Beach, relinquishing slots. It also experimented with less traditional destinations such as Hayden and Bozeman, hunting for higher-yielding ski traffic while trimming transcon service to Fort Lauderdale. In short, JetBlue has tried all sorts of things to make the Long Beach focus city a success for the company. And none of it has really worked.
Reports tonight suggest that several of the airline's senior leadership team are headed to the west coast for meetings with the Long Beach crewmembers on Thursday and that the station's status as a focus city/hub is on the table as a talking point. Or, more bluntly, on the chopping block.
All crew based at the Long Beach station received an email invitation to "a station meeting with JetBlue leaders" late on Wednesday. The company President, VP Inflight and VP Tech Ops are reported to be among the team headed west. It is hard to see too many options where this ends up as good news for JetBlue operations in Long Beach.
The company cannot reasonably announce an expansion as the slots are tightly controlled. It could just be a meet-and-greet with lots of senior executives but that is a relatively rare scenario. And even more rare with so little advance notice.
That JetBlue has no currently announced plans to grow routes out of Long Beach certainly doesn't help the station's position. In recent months the airline focused on growth at all five of its other focus cities while leaving Long Beach in the lurch. And with the company's fleet growth planned for 2020 it is hard to see how a hub that is not growing can survive even at the status quo.
Competition on the west coast is also brutal, with Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines all fighting to grow share in the region. At Long Beach in particular Southwest has taken advantage of available slots and eroded JetBlue share on head-to-head routes with impunity.
Maybe this is much ado about nothing. Senior leaders should visit their employees and interact with the front line more often. But when a meeting with top executives is scheduled with less than 24 hours notice that's rarely a good sign.
JetBlue did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
They should just move all ops to LAX. Then, the political leaders in LGB will be begging them to return.
Austin O'Brien says
This would be a horribly bad decision. LAX surface transportation is a nightmare. I live 10 min closer to LAX than LGB and still we choose LGB every time we can get a non-stop. There's 1+/day with JB to BOS & JFK. It's never taken us an hour to get from drop off to gate at LGB, at LAX you're going to need precheck and priority to pull that off. LGB is actually a pleasant, if quaint, old time-y outdoor boarding experience and many enjoy that too.
LGB represents a significant value added point of differentiation for JB in LA.
The lack of a second airport in LA county with a customs terminal tho is an embarrassment almost as bad as Boston's single airport stupidity .
LAX is gate-limited. Expanding operations there would be VERY difficult. Rumors include somehow acquiring one more gate but even that idea is soft right now.
I can't believe they haven't left yet. LGB and the city treats them like crap. And yet, they were singlehandedly keeping that airport afloat before WN came into the fold. Selfishly, I'd like to see BUR get ahold of some of those routes, since it's a much closer drive for me.
Gregory Wolfe says
BINGO! You just hit it on the head of the nail!
Wais says
Steve M says
15 million people in the L.A. Basin and one international airport. Los Angeles World Airports managed years ago to buy and then strip bare Ontario airport. For people living out in San Bernardino and Riverside, really anything east of the 605 freeway, must make the grueling trek to LAX. Oxnard airport no longer has commercial air service leaving folks there to suffer a horrendous commute south. At one time AA had short hop service from Ontario to LAX, and United to Oxnard. All that is history. American cities like L.A., Seattle/King County have managed to exert monopoly status and crush any competition or service inside their designated radius. Heck if King County/SEATAC airport could get away with it they'd buy Portland, Oregon airport and shut down the few international flights there. But the people in California vote for the mayors and county councils that permit this. The state legislatures too are all corrupt. It's all about the money.
J.R. says
Long Beach city council shot themselves in the head. JetBlue tried everything it could to grow LGB, but the city council wasn't interested in economic expansion or jobs growth. You reap what you sow. Good for JetBlue. Now cue all the naysayers complaining about abandoning LGB.
Long Beach in general is going down the tube! So.sad!
Under Paid says
"It could just be a meet-and-greet with lots of senior executives but that is a relatively rare scenario."
You obviously don't know what you're talking about. JB does this all the time, it's cheaper to throw out some lies and cheap food than to rally the troops with a good profit sharing plan. Nothing will come of this…
I'm very familiar with the "pocket sessions" that the company runs regularly. They are not scheduled last minute like this typically.
Also, I was right. 🙂
Debbie jentsch says
Jet blue flew direct flights to Southwest international airport Ie near sanibel-captiva, Naples, fort Myers and more. I made that trip often AND the international is small all so convenient Long Beach govt sucks. Can't wait to move. All I do is pay for every benefit handed out. I get nothing
SLC flyer, LGB is great for me between B6 and DL the non-stop competition keeps prices low. WN could be an option but they're a 1-stop for me. I hope B6 keeps at least the SLC flights 🙂
SLC is staying for now. SJC & OAK are gone and LAS loses a frequency. Full details now available at https://paxex.aero/2020/01/jetblue-long-beach-oackland-cuts-2020..
As a high volume flyer on JetBlue from LGB, this is terrible news. The idiots that live near the airport who had tantrums and persuaded the city council to abandon the international terminal are worse kind of people. Selfish jerks who fear change and have no real concept whay they are crying about.
Elda Prince says
I love Jet Blue! It's so much closer to the people from Riverside county! I live in Moreno Valley and I always fly out of Long Beach, it's so much more convient because it's less congested than LAX and easier to get around. Less crowds also and very friendly crews! I travel to Fort Lauderdale twice a year and it's very convient!
PDX to LGB is our favorite route on JetBlue! Honestly, marketing to more people heading to Disney would probably help as well. So many people don't know how amazing this airport is!
You're lucky that one is sticking around for now!
Though I also bet the Alaska Airlines nonstop to SNA gets a good chunk of that traffic.
Go to ONT! That airport is quickly growing. They already have a daily nonstop JetBlue flight to JFK. Make that the focus hub on the west coast. Lots of room to grow!
JetBlue's position right now is that it doesn't really want a hub on the west coast. Maybe that changes as the Airbus deliveries return to normal pace, but with the heave competition from much stronger brands with higher frequencies it is not hard to see that a small player doesn't stand much of a chance.