JetBlue is back in Columbus. The airline launched daily nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and John Glenn Columbus International Airport on Monday, November 2, according to JetBlue’s launch announcement carried by Business Wire, restoring a carrier that has not operated at Columbus since 2008. The first flight from Fort Lauderdale was scheduled to arrive in Columbus on Monday evening, and the first Columbus departure follows on Tuesday morning, November 3.
The Columbus schedule, as published by Aviation A2Z in its coverage of the launch, puts flight B6 1508 leaving Fort Lauderdale at 7:00 p.m. and arriving at John Glenn Columbus at 9:45 p.m. beginning November 2. The return flight, B6 1507, leaves Columbus at 6:00 a.m. and arrives in Fort Lauderdale at 8:44 a.m. beginning November 3, Aviation A2Z reported. All times are local, and the airline notes schedules may vary.
Columbus was one of two Midwest launches JetBlue made the same day. The airline also began daily Fort Lauderdale service to Indianapolis, its first-ever flights there, according to Business Wire. Together the two routes extend a Fort Lauderdale build-out that JetBlue says will pass 150 daily departures to 61 nonstop destinations this winter, its largest-ever schedule at that airport.
The return has been months in the making. The Columbus Dispatch reported on May 4 that JetBlue would resume Columbus service this fall, on a route the airport announced the same week JetBlue unveiled a batch of new Fort Lauderdale routes on May 2 — the day Spirit Airlines collapsed. The Dispatch reported that JetBlue has not operated out of John Glenn Columbus since 2008, an absence of 18 years.
In the airport’s May announcement reported by The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Regional Airport Authority leadership framed Fort Lauderdale as more than a Florida beach run: it is a connecting gateway to international destinations including Cancun, San Juan, Nassau, Cali, Cartagena and Guatemala City. Frontier and Southwest already fly Columbus to Fort Lauderdale nonstop, The Dispatch reported, so JetBlue’s arrival adds a third carrier and a different connecting network on the route.
The route also changes Columbus’s airline lineup. The Columbus Navigator’s nonstop-flights tracker, which cross-checks the Columbus Regional Airport Authority’s official nonstop chart, counted service to 57 airports on 10 airlines before JetBlue’s arrival and lists JetBlue as the airport’s 11th airline, with Lufthansa service planned to follow in May 2027. For a mid-sized airport in the middle of a major terminal replacement program, each new carrier is both a passenger convenience and a competitive check on fares to Florida.
On board, Aviation A2Z reported the route will be flown with Airbus A320 aircraft in JetBlue’s standard configuration, with complimentary high-speed Fly-Fi Wi-Fi, seatback entertainment with live television at every seat, and complimentary snacks and drinks. EvenMore fares add extra legroom, priority security where available, early boarding and dedicated overhead bin space, according to Aviation A2Z.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: daily service is published in both directions, the inaugural Fort Lauderdale departure was set for Monday evening, November 2, and the first Columbus-origin departure is Tuesday, November 3 at 6:00 a.m. What we’re still waiting on is the first full week of operations — on-time performance and loads on a route entering a market that already has two nonstop competitors. Travelers should confirm flight status, baggage rules and total fare with JetBlue before heading to the airport, because published schedules can change.
To mark the launch, JetBlue is offering introductory one-way fares starting at $59 in Main and $138 in EvenMore, Aviation A2Z reported. The Columbus offer requires booking by November 3 for travel from January 6 to March 17, 2027, excludes Friday and Saturday travel, and carries blackout dates from January 14 to 18 and February 11 to 23, 2027, according to Aviation A2Z. Fares include government taxes and fees; baggage and optional services can cost extra.
The launch also lands in the middle of a busy stretch for Columbus aviation. Earlier today NewsForce247 reported on NetJets’ plan to add 365,000 square feet and about 800 jobs at its Columbus headquarters campus, another sign of how much of the region’s growth story now runs through its airports. Only one earlier NewsForce247 article was a genuine relative for this story, so it is the single related-coverage link in this piece.
What happens next is Tuesday morning: the first JetBlue departure out of Columbus since 2008 is scheduled to leave John Glenn Columbus International Airport at 6:00 a.m. on November 3, bound for Fort Lauderdale — and the introductory-fare booking window closes the same day.
Photo: formulanone, CC BY-SA