On November 2, JetBlue quietly rolled out three new nonstop routes in a single day: two from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and one from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall. The common thread? All three markets lost Spirit Airlines service this year, and JetBlue is moving in to take its place.
The Baltimore route goes to San Juan, Puerto Rico (B6963, daily, departing BWI at 5:16 PM and arriving 10:07 PM). Because Puerto Rico is a US territory, it counts as a domestic flight — no passport needed. JetBlue joins Frontier and Southwest, which already fly the pair nonstop, and this is the first time the airline has served it. Expect an Airbus A320 on the year-round route.
From Fort Lauderdale, JetBlue launched daily service to John Glenn Columbus International in Ohio and Indianapolis International in Indiana. Both are evening-out, morning-back rotations on the A320: FLL-CMH departs at 7:12 PM and returns at 6:00 AM, while FLL-IND runs 7:33 PM out and 6:00 AM back. The Indianapolis route is the bigger deal for the airline — it marks JetBlue's first-ever service to Indiana.
The Fort Lauderdale expansion is part of a broader land-grab. With Spirit's retreat, JetBlue now has 856 weekly departures from FLL, making it the airline's busiest airport, ahead of both New York JFK (816) and Boston (811). This winter it counts 62 routes from Fort Lauderdale, including a new transcontinental link to San Diego.
The Columbus market shows why JetBlue sees opportunity. US Department of Transportation data shows 235,200 round-trip passengers flew between the two cities in the 12 months to July 2026, with Spirit having carried 38% of them. Even with JetBlue, Frontier and Southwest all on the route, total nonstop capacity roughly matches what existed before Spirit exited — around six daily flights at peak.
For travellers, the practical upshot is more nonstop options at often-lower winter fares. Snowbirds and Midwest holidaymakers now have three more ways to reach South Florida without changing planes, and Baltimore passengers gain a straightforward route to Puerto Rico's beaches and old city. Just note that competition on these routes is crowded — JetBlue is one of three or four carriers on each — so fares may swing quickly with sales and schedule changes.
