JetBlue launches first Caribbean destination

JetBlue Airways begins service from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU). The airline has served Chicago since 2007 with direct service to Boston and New York's JFK. This new route marks JetBlue's first service to the Caribbean from Chicago.

"There is a strong connection between Chicago and Puerto Rico, with the Windy City being home to the third largest Puerto Rican population in the U.S.," said JetBlue's President and CEO, Dave Barger. "Our new service will connect Chicagoans to sunny San Juan. This new route will provide convenient service and a less expensive option for those seeking to visit friends and family on the island or traveling for business or pleasure."

"On behalf of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, we congratulate JetBlue on adding San Juan, Puerto Ricoas a new destination from O'Hare," said Rosemarie S. Andolino, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation. "This new route helps maintain Chicago's position as a major global gateway and the best-connected city in the world."

JetBlue is continuing to grow its presence in Puerto Rico and now offers direct service to 17 destinations from San Juan. San Juan will serve as a gateway for customers travelling from Chicago, allowing convenient connections to Caribbean destinations including Punta Cana,Santiago and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and St. Croix, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Additionally, travelers may connect via San Juan to many other destinations throughout the Caribbean served by JetBlue's partner airlines Cape Air, LIAT, and Seaborne Airlines.

"Puerto Rico welcomes JetBlue Flight 1563. Flight 1563 opens new routes for business travel, for tourism, for productive interactions between two great communities," stated Governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro García Padilla. "From this day on, the distance between Chicago and San Juan has shortened; our skies are bluer."

"The Puerto Rico Tourism Company welcomes JetBlue's new nonstop flight between San Juanand Chicago, as it helps to bring an additional 150 passengers daily and contributes to strengthen one of the strongest pillars of tourism in the country, which is to broaden the Island's airlift offers; and this will be reflected in a positive economic impact for Puerto Rico as a destination," said Ingrid I. Rivera Rocafort, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.