JetBlue is adding Boston, N.Y. flights

JetBlue Airways Corp., a low-cost carrier, will expand flights out of Boston and New York, flying between the cities for the first time as it begins using new 100-seat regional jets.

The expansion will triple the number of destinations from Boston by April 6 and add 19 daily flights out of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, JetBlue said in a statement Tuesday. The airline is also starting service to Austin, Texas, and Richmond, Va.

JetBlue, which until now has flown only Airbus SAS A320s to hold down maintenance and labor costs, is adding eight Embraer 190 aircraft this year and 18 in 2006. The carrier hopes it will be more economical to use the smaller planes on routes with fewer passengers in place of the 156-seat A320s.

"With the delivery of one new E190 every 20 days, plus 16 new A320 aircraft in 2006, and adding seven more gates at New York's JFK, JetBlue will have the potential to offer up to 200 daily flights," Chief Executive David Neeleman said in the statement.

The airline is beginning 10 daily flights between New York and Boston while also adding flights to 15 cities previously unserved from Boston, including Salt Lake City. It is also expanding flights between New York and Buffalo, N.Y., and Burlington, Vt.

Three daily flights between Austin and Kennedy airport are planned to start Jan. 19, in addition to four daily between Richmond and Kennedy on March 31.

JetBlue's fares between New York and Boston will range from $80 to $240 round trip, not including taxes or fees.

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines charges $355, including taxes and fees, for a round-trip flight between Boston and New York, purchased 19 days ahead of time and including a Saturday stay. Delta Air Lines Inc. charges $346.90, with taxes and fees, for the same round trip, and US Airways Group Inc. charges $282.90 with taxes and fees.

The airline's string of 18 consecutive quarterly profits since its inception "is in jeopardy" because of record high fuel prices, Utah native Neeleman said last month. The price of jet fuel is up 86 percent this year. The carrier will report third-quarter results Oct. 20.

JetBlue stock fell 38 cents, or 2 percent, to close at $18.44 per share Tuesday on the Nasdaq stock market.

JetBlue has said the Embraers will have a slightly higher operating cost, and it expects to pass that on to customers through higher fares. The airline has ordered 99 of the Embraer 190s, with the option of adding 100 more through 2016. The planes have seat-back televisions, as do JetBlue's A320s, and more than 100 channels of XM satellite radio.