The European Commission said it “stood ready to intervene with interim measures” in case JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) could not secure the slots it was seeking for this coming summer season at Amsterdam Schiphol. It is now satisfied, however, that the American carrier obtained all the slots it needs to continue operating at the airport, and that passengers will benefit from more competition and more choice in transatlantic flights.
JetBlue was able to improve its slot portfolio in Amsterdam during the later phases of the slot allocation procedure, the EU competition watchdog confirmed in a statement earlier this month.
The airline began offering daily services between New York JFK and Amsterdam in August 2023 and from Boston to Amsterdam in September 2023. In its annual report for the year, which was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on February 12, it said the new routes had helped it boost its transatlantic capacity as a percentage of total capacity from 1.5% in 2022 to 3.1% in 2023.
However, due to tight capacity constraints and Dutch moves to impose noise limits at the European hub, the airline had not obtained all the slots it requested in the initial phases, so there was a risk it would have to halt its operations on these routes at the start of the IATA summer season on March 30, 2024. It had reportedly been considering other airports in Europe amid the uncertainty.
The commission explained in its statement that it “welcomes the positive developments at Amsterdam airport enabling new entrant JetBlue to continue operating” there, as the congestion had been intensified through the distorting effects on competition created by other carriers combining routes through joint ventures formed via global alliances.
“The commission will continue its monitoring ahead of the summer 2025 season,” it concluded.
