MHT celebrated big time when JetBlue showed up. Now the airport will have connecting options via JFK.
JetBlue plans to grow in Manchester, NH, adding a JFK flight from 12 June 2025. Unlike many of the carrier’s routes, however, this one appears to have a different target: connections.
The flight times – early in the morning from New Hampshire and late in the evening from NYC – are suitable for a long work day in New York City. But, more than that, they enable access to a significant portion of JetBlue’s Caribbean and Latin America network.
Whether it’s a quick getaway to New York City or a seamless connection for a sun-soaked trip to the Caribbean, this service provides customers with a convenient and comfortable travel experience from their home airport.
– Dave Jehn, Vice President of Network Planning and Airline Partnerships
Looking at the carrier’s published schedules via Cirium, more than 20 southern destinations become available.
Filtering for reasonable connection durations, the MHT-JFK route offers up trips to more than 15 countries across the Caribbean and Latin America. In the map above white paths are the shortest connections while cyan are next and blue the longest, but still under three hours at JFK. The orange dots on the map represent the dozen markets where the return flight is also reasonably timed.
The route is slated to run through the end of the summer schedule, terminating on 25 October.
The value of connectivity
JetBlue’s arrival in Manchester raised questions about whether it would attract new business or simply siphon off demand from its focus city/hub operations in Boston. Indeed, several of the markets offered via JFK are also available non-stop from Boston.
In many cases, however, the frequencies from Boston are more limited. Only seven operate at least daily. The JFK connection creates more convenient – or even simply available – options for travelers with set schedules that do not align to JetBlue’s BOS operations.
It also reflects an effort to capture more connecting passenger flow via JFK. JetBlue historically focused on non-stop passenger traffic, outpacing connections by roughly a 10-to-1 ratio for the domestic network. International travel brings more connections into play, but the number is still relatively low.
Last summer, however, the carrier indicated that connections would be part of its plan to grow. Earlier this year CrankyFlier ran some analysis showing this plan in action, with a handful of other short-haul markets timed similarly to the new JFK-MHT route. It is useful for the day trip, but significantly more for the southerly connections.
Whether that translates into the revenue JetBlue needs to reverse its financial slide remains to be seen. But the business framework is now clearly in place.
Separately, the carrier appears to be selling Boston to Manchester via JFK. The trip takes five-ish hours and costs 4x the hour-long bus ride also available.
Can you fly from Manchester to Boston via JFK? JetBlue will sell it, but that’s a terrible idea.
It is absurd. But it is on the timetables.
Also also worth noting, Manchester’s service to Orlando remains for the upcoming summer season, but the extra flights to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers are not operating. Bit of a win-some, lose-some overall for Manchester and JetBlue.
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Seth Miller has over a decade of experience covering the airline industry. With a strong focus on passenger experience, Seth also has deep knowledge of inflight connectivity and loyalty programs. He is widely respected as an unbiased commentator on the aviation industry.
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It is not. Burlington, VT (BTV) is nearby and was recently killed after a long run, but MHT just started earlier this year. I was on the inaugural, naturally.
Isn’t this one of JetBlue’s original routes, back when they started JFK-ROC/SYR/BUF?
It is not. Burlington, VT (BTV) is nearby and was recently killed after a long run, but MHT just started earlier this year. I was on the inaugural, naturally.