JetBlue Announces the Beginning of Operations from Quito’s Mariscal Sucre Airport

JetBlue, one of the major low cost airlines in the United States, announced the start of operations for the route Quito - Fort Lauderdale beginning the first quarter of 2016.

JetBlue’s operation at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport will connect both destinations with one daily flight. For this purpose the airline has announced the use of an Airbus 320 with a capacity of 150 passengers. With this, Quito becomes JetBlue’s fifth destination in South America.

"The addition of JetBlue to the Mariscal Sucre’s list of destinations is a sign of the growing importance of Quito as a premier destination at a regional scale," stated Andrew O'Brian, President and CEO of Quiport -the concessionaire of Quito’s international airport.
The start of operations of JetBlue will have a positive impact on tourism from the United States and will allow to offer Ecuadorian travelers a greater choice of destinations parting from Fort Lauderdale, as this city serves as a JetBlue hub that currently offers 37 nonstop destinations, with up to 85 daily flights.

While announcing this new route, Dave Clark, Vice President of JetBlue’s route planning declared, "we are proud to continue to grow our operation in the city of Fort Lauderdale, a major gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America. Demand for travel to Ecuador has been growing strongly, especially after the great efforts to promote tourism in the city and the country."

Consequently, for Andrew O'Brian the success in negotiations with JetBlue is due to the coordinated efforts of the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador, the agency promoting tourism in Quito - QuitoTurismo and Quiport in the implementation of the strategy of developing connectivity. "The airline needs to ensure its successful operation in the new route. Having strong support from the authorities responsible for tourism promotion is certainly a greatly valued factor".