JetBlue flights from MacArthur tap demand for air travel on Long Island, economists say

JetBlue Airways on Thursday began nonstop services to Florida from Long Island MacArthur Airport, taking advantage of what some economists have called an "untapped" market for air travel.

JetBlue said it will operate daily service between Islip and Orlando, and four round-trip flights weekly between MacArthur and Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.

All three destinations rank among the top five for Islip passengers between August 2023 and July 2024, according to U.S. Bureau of Transportation statistics.

The added destinations come despite financial struggles at the low-cost carrier, which announced plans earlier this year to drop 15 cities and more than 50 routes, including some from LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, from its flight offerings. Economists, however, say the move allows the airport to take advantage of an underserved market for air travel. 

Long Island has “untapped propensity to travel," said economist Martin Cantor. “For the population we have, not enough people are flying.”

The region also has a wealthy customer base, said Cantor, who is director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy. He conducted two economic impact studies involving the airport and the Midway Crossing development project in Ronkonkoma in 2015 and 2021. 

Nearly 3 million people live in Nassau and Suffolk counties, with median incomes of $141,568 and $124,045, respectively, according to the 2020 census.

Around 1.2 million passengers arrived and departed from MacArthur Airport in 2023, according to airport officials.

"I've long thought that MacArthur Airport was undersized relative to our population," said John Rizzo, economist and Stony Brook University professor. 

There's "pent up demand" for more accessible air travel in Suffolk County, he said.

Long Island Association president Matt Cohen called JetBlue's inaugural flight on Thursday a "symbol for Long Island MacArthur Airport's continued ascendance as a regional economic powerhouse."

"The airport is critical to Long Island's prosperity," he said in a statement.

Services to Florida 

The partnership between Islip and the airline has been highly anticipated by both town officials and passengers who use the town-owned airport, especially with services to some of the most popular destinations from MacArthur.

Five of the top 10 destinations from MacArthur are in Florida, comprising nearly half a million passengers between August 2023 and July 2024, according to federal data. 

JetBlue, the sixth largest airline in the nation, is the fourth airline to fly out of Islip, joining Southwest Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Breeze Airways.

Federal data indicates nearly half of all passengers from MacArthur fly with Southwest. A little more than 45% prefer Frontier and just over 5% use Breeze. 

MacArthur has "adequate" space and staff to "accommodate new carriers" safely and efficiently, said Islip spokeswoman Caroline Smith. "JetBlue has hired staffing for their airline operation."

$100M in upgrades at MacArthur

The addition of the major airline is the latest update at the Islip airport, which has undergone more than $100 million in planning and capital projects since 2016, including a ground transportation center and a fire rescue building.

The pending $2.8 billion Midway Crossing proposal is expected to build a walkway connecting a new MacArthur air terminal to Ronkonkoma’s Long Island Rail Road station. The proposal calls for 2.7 million square feet of new construction, including a convention center, a 300-room hotel and health sciences facilities.

"There's room for MacArthur to expand substantially and still be very convenient compared to LaGuardia and JFK," said Rizzo, who hopes more airlines opt to fly out of Islip.

He added: "For the betterment and economic development on Long Island, I think expanding that airport is crucial." 

Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter said MacArthur has the capacity to accommodate more airlines. 

Passengers board flights 

More than 500 passengers booked tickets on JetBlue across the two roundtrips from MacArthur on Thursday, said Daniel Shurz, head of revenue, network and enterprise planning at JetBlue.

Several passengers were thrilled about the airline's new proximity for Long Islanders, including Samantha Zito, 31, of Middle Island, who intentionally booked a seat on the first JetBlue flight.

"It's a little bit of history," said the JetBlue devotee, who wore a T-shirt with the airline's logo. She noted the "convenience" of traveling to Islip rather than Kennedy Airport in Queens.

Gina Walton, 63, of Central Islip, booked flights on JetBlue to visit family in Florida.

"This is so convenient, versus JFK or LaGuardia," she echoed.

JetBlue prices out of MacArthur will be "generally in line" with the airline's "other Florida routes from the area," said Shurz, who called the air service a "value carrier."

The JetBlue website, as of Thursday afternoon, showed prices for flights out of Islip to Florida spots ranging from $69 to $713. 

JetBlue profits fluctuate

JetBlue ranked ninth out of the nation’s 10 largest airlines in both canceled flights and on-time arrivals last year, federal data shows.

Between the summers of 2023 and 2024, JetBlue has seen passengers drop a little more than 8% and departures drop just over 10%, according to federal data. New York remained among its top markets with nearly 6 million passengers.

The carrier reported a $25 million profit for the second quarter this summer, an 82% drop from a year ago and a surprise to analysts who expected the New York-based airline to post a loss for the April through June fiscal period.

MacArthur Airport has reported $15 million in revenue so far this year, Smith said. The airport took in $22 million in 2023, with a $5 million net profit.

Islip expects to earn between $600,000 and $700,000 annually in concession revenue from the three new JetBlue routes, said airport commissioner Shelley LaRose-Arken.

A temporary town incentive program, included in the town's contract with the carrier, designed to “de-risk” new routes for carriers means the air carrier will pay no fees for its first year at Islip and just fuel flow fees in its second.

The incentive program, an "industry norm," also matches up to $25,000 in marketing per qualifying route, LaRose-Arken said.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.