Press Release Details

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- New York City-based JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU), joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and other partners and leaders, celebrated a key milestone in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's transformation of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with the groundbreaking of a $4.2 billion project to develop a new international Terminal 6. The groundbreaking, held Thursday at JetBlue’s JFK maintenance hangar, only reinforces the airline’s commitment to JFK, Queens, and New York.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (seventh from right) and JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes (first right) join leaders for the JFK Terminal 6 groundbreaking. (Photo courtesy: Office of the Governor of New York)

The new Terminal 6 will connect seamlessly with JetBlue’s current home at Terminal 5, adding gates and opportunity for the airline to add flights, destinations and partner airline connections. The project is a public-private partnership between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and JFK Millennium Partners - a consortium that includes JetBlue, Vantage Airport Group, an industry leading investor, developer, and manager of award-winning global airport projects, including LaGuardia Terminal B; American Triple I, a certified minority-owned investor, owner, developer, and manager of infrastructure assets; and New York real estate operating company RXR.

“It was 23 years ago that JetBlue launched our first flights from our home at JFK, eventually growing and taking over our modern Terminal 5 and now sending customers to more than 80 destinations, including London and soon Paris. At a time that JetBlue is set to grow significantly, we are excited to once again invest and further the governor’s vision as we build the new Terminal 6,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, JetBlue. “As we move JFK into the future with a new, state-of-the-art, customer-focused facility, we are so pleased to have an opportunity to expand our presence with new gates in a new terminal. The team putting this project together is setting out to develop a terminal that New Yorkers, including our JetBlue crewmembers, can be proud of.”

With hiring ongoing throughout the company, more than 7,000 JetBlue crewmembers are now based at JFK.

Continued Growth with Spirit Airlines

The new terminal will mark a next chapter for New York’s Hometown Airline^® at the same time it prepares to expand as a result of its planned merger with Spirit Airlines. The merger will bring on additional crewmember jobs, while providing a commitment to customers to continue offering low fares and JetBlue’s award-winning customer experience.

Together, JetBlue and Spirit will create a national low-fare challenger to the Big Four airlines that dominate the industry and will bring more low fares, options and routes to more communities, including the millions of New Yorkers that rely on the airline. The merger will spark better competition with the largest carriers that control 80 percent of the market.

A Modern Terminal to Enhance the Customer Experience Starting in 2026

The start of construction of Terminal 6 follows the successful financial close of the deal in November 2022 between the Port Authority and JFK Millennium Partners to build the 1.2 million square foot, new international terminal on the airport’s north side. According to estimates, the project will create approximately 4,000 jobs, including 1,800 union construction jobs and direct wages of $1.9 billion.

The new terminal will be developed in two phases, with the first new gates opening in 2026 and construction completion in 2028. The 1.2 million-square-foot Terminal 6, will have capacity for 10 gates -- including nine wide body gates. Customers will enjoy more than 100,000 square feet of world-class shopping and dining featuring locally based restaurateurs, craft beverage options and Taste of NY stores.

“Great cities need great airports. Alongside our partners at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Vantage Airport Group, ATI, RXR, and JetBlue, we are ready to deliver a terminal that transforms the guest experience, drives significant economic activity, and creates extensive opportunities for local minority and women owned businesses to make their mark at JFK International Airport, starting now and for years to come,” said JFK Millennium Partners CEO and Vantage executive Helena Williams.

State-of-the-art technology will improve the customer experience with touchless technology from check-in to gates and digital systems that will streamline the customer journey throughout the terminal. Advanced security systems will include automated TSA security lanes, biometric-based access control systems and a flexible design to accommodate future technology or regulatory changes. A convenient taxi plaza as well as designated for-hire vehicle pick-up areas will be shared with Terminal 5, substantially reducing traffic congestion on the terminal road frontage and maximizing connectivity across the airport.

As part of the agreement with JFK Millennium Partners, the Port Authority will commit $130 million in capital funding to build enabling infrastructure for the new Terminal 6, including airside improvements that will reduce congestion and delays and roadway improvements that will optimize airport traffic flow.

Renderings of the new Terminal 6 can be found here: https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2023-02/Terminal_6_Updated_Renderings_2023.pdf

About JetBlue

JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Juan. JetBlue carries customers to more than 100 destinations throughout the United States, Latin America, Caribbean, Canada and the United Kingdom. For more information and the best fares, visit jetblue.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release contain various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which represent our management’s beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. These statements are intended to qualify for the “safe harbor” from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “indicates,” “remains,” “believes,” “estimates,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “goals,” “targets” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed, or assured. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and are based on information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements due to many factors, including, without limitation, those listed in our U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, matters of which we may not be aware, the coronavirus pandemic including new and existing variants, the outbreak of any other disease or similar public health threat that affects travel demand or behavior; restrictions on our business related to the financing we accepted under various federal government support programs such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act; our significant fixed obligations and substantial indebtedness; risk associated with execution of our strategic operating plans in the near-term and long-term; the recording of a material impairment loss of tangible or intangible assets; our extremely competitive industry; volatility in financial and credit markets which could affect our ability to obtain debt and/or lease financing or to raise funds through debt or equity issuances; volatility in fuel prices, maintenance costs and interest rates; our reliance on high daily aircraft utilization; our ability to implement our growth strategy; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain our culture as we grow; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers, including for aircraft, aircraft engines and parts and vulnerability to delays by those suppliers; our dependence on the New York and Boston metropolitan markets and the effect of increased congestion in these markets; our reliance on automated systems and technology; the outcome of the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice and certain state Attorneys General against us related to our Northeast Alliance entered into with American Airlines; our being subject to potential unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labor costs; our presence in some international emerging markets that may experience political or economic instability or may subject us to legal risk; reputational and business risk from information security breaches or cyber-attacks; changes in or additional domestic or foreign government regulation, including new or increased tariffs; changes in our industry due to other airlines’ financial condition; acts of war or terrorism; global economic conditions or an economic downturn leading to a continuing or accelerated decrease in demand for air travel; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters; external geopolitical events and conditions; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of JetBlue or Spirit or both of them to terminate the Merger Agreement; failure to obtain applicable regulatory approval in a timely manner or otherwise and the potential financial consequences thereof; failure to satisfy other closing conditions to the transaction with Spirit; failure of the parties to consummate the transaction; JetBlue’s ability to finance the transaction with Spirit and the indebtedness JetBlue expects to incur in connection with the transaction; the possibility that JetBlue may be unable to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies within the expected timeframes or at all and to successfully integrate Spirit’s operations with those of JetBlue; the possibility that such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected or that operating costs and business disruption (including, without limitation, disruptions in relationships with employees, customers or suppliers) may be greater than expected in connection with the transaction with Spirit; failure to realize anticipated benefits of the combined operations; demand for the combined company’s services; the growth, change and competitive landscape of the markets in which the combined company participates; expected seasonality trends; diversion of managements’ attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction with Spirit; risks related to investor and rating agency perceptions of each of the parties and their respective business, operations, financial condition and the industry in which they operate; risks related to the potential impact of general economic, political and market factors on the companies or the transaction with Spirit; and ongoing and increases in costs related to IT network security. It is routine for our internal projections and expectations to change as the year or each quarter in the year progresses, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections, beliefs, and assumptions upon which we base our expectations may change prior to the end of each quarter or year. Any outlook or forecasts in this document have been prepared without taking into account or consideration the transaction with Spirit.

Given the risks and uncertainties surrounding forward-looking statements, you should not place undue reliance on these statements. Further information concerning these and other factors is contained in JetBlue’s SEC filings, including but not limited to, JetBlue’s 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur. Our forward-looking statements included in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were written or recorded. Other than as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.