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JetBlue Launches Tampa-Cancun Flights At TIA

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

The airport celebrated the first JetBlue flight to Cancun by spraying firehoses over the runway.

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 18, 2008

TAMPA - Kevin and Jackie Transue began their latest trip to Mexico this morning by driving from their Spring Hill home to Tampa International Airport, where a mariachi band provided entertainment for JetBlue Airways' inaugural Tampa-Cancun flight.

JetBlue and TIA celebrated the restoration of Tampa-Cancun service, which four other airlines have planned or tried since the 1980s before choosing other routes for reasons ranging from hurricane damage in Mexico to low ridership.

The Transues were celebrating low fares: $192 roundtrip compared with up to $700 they had been quoted before the JetBlue flight became available. They also like the direct, nonstop service, rather than making multiple connections as they had in the past in Charlotte, N.C., and Houston.

JetBlue sold 85 of the 100 seats on the Embraer E190 jet on this morning's 107-minute flight.

"We are booking upward of 80 percent of the seats on the flights so far," said Linda Meech, general manager for JetBlue at Tampa International.

The airline announced the new service in July and maintained its plans despite the poor economy.

The flights are expected to serve mostly leisure travelers originating their roundtrips in Tampa, airport director Louis Miller said.

However, anecdotal accounts revealed some traffic is bound for places beyond Cancun – the Transues were headed to Cozumel, after an $8 bus ride and $12 ferry, once they arrived in Cancun.

San Jose, Costa Rica, is next on TIA's priority list for international service expansion, along with additional flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and a resumption of service to Nassau in the Bahamas.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.

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