JetBlue adding flights to Los Angeles International

NEW YORK — JetBlue Airways Corp. said Thursday it will go begin flying to and from Los Angeles International Airport, after putting the plan on hold last summer as fuel prices climbed to record highs.

The Forest Hills, N.Y.-based carrier said it will start daily nonstop service in June from Los Angeles to Boston and JetBlue's home base at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Tickets will go on sale Feb. 4. JetBlue already serves smaller local airports at Long Beach and Burbank, Calif.

"Here at JetBlue, we've long had our eye on LAX, and this summer we're thrilled to finally be making our debut there," Chief Commercial Officer Robin Hayes said in a statement. "Last year, when we postponed plans to serve LAX, increasing fuel costs made launching a new destination prohibitively expensive. Fuel prices have now reduced and we continue to get overwhelming requests from our customers to serve this market. Clearly, the time is right for JetBlue to enter LAX."

The time also may be ripe for JetBlue to take advantage of capacity pullbacks at major carriers.

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines scaled back at the airport last year as fuel prices forced capacity reductions.

Also Thursday, JetBlue said it will add one nonstop daily flight from New York's JFK to Jamaica, pending government approval. The carrier has been expanding in the Caribbean as it scales back flights elsewhere.

Earlier Thursday, JetBlue reported a wider fourth-quarter pretax loss compared to a year ago, as it took a sizable charge on the value of some soured investments.

Shares of JetBlue rose 42 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $6.98 in morning trading.