Schumer Announces JetBlue to Bring Service to Stewart International Airport

Schumer Announces JetBlue To Bring Service To Stewart International Airport

Schumer, Who Led The Charge To Bring JetBlue To Upstate New York, Has Pushed JetBlue To Locate Its Cheap Fares And First Rate Service At Stewart Since 2001

New Flights By JetBlue Will Provide 2 Daily Roundtrips To Ft. Lauderdale And Orlando, And 1 Daily Roundtrip To West Palm Beach

Schumer: Stewart And JetBlue Are A Match Made In Heaven

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today joined David Neelemen, Founder and CEO of JetBlue Airlines, to announce that JetBlue will begin new service from Stewart International Airport to two new destinations on December 19, expanding to three on January 5 and expanding further in the future. The new service will provide two daily roundtrips to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, and one daily roundtrip to West Palm Beach. Since Schumer was first elected to the Senate in 1998, he has worked hard to improve low-cost air service from Stewart and all of upstate New York. In 2001, Schumer first introduced JetBlue to Stewart, and since then has pushed Neeleman to locate JetBlue's cheap fares and first-rate service at Stewart.

"I always knew that Stewart and JetBlue would make a nice couple, but now we know that they are a match made in heaven," Schumer said. "For six years we've received good vibes from JetBlue, and now they are finally coming to Stwart. This means new expanded service, which will drive down airfares for people throughout the Hudson Valley, including Westchester and Rockland Counties and the entire mid-Hudson area. Not only does this help make air travel more affordable for local passengers, low fares also translate into economic growth. They will be a huge boost for the region."

On December 19, JetBlue will begin the first roundtrip flights to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, and on January 5 will expand to two round trips, plus one round trip to West Palm Beach. The introductory one-way fares to and from Stewart will start at $79 each way, with regular fares ranging between $99 and $299 each way. JetBlue will fly from Stewart to Ft. Lauderdale at 7:10am and 6:55pm, from Stewart to Orlando at 8:00am and 3:00pm, and from Stewart to West Palm Beach 11:45am. JetBlue will operate their flights with Airbus A320 aircraft, which seat 156 people.

Schumer has worked with airlines to improve air service to Stewart since he was first elected to the Senate. In addition to bringing JetBlue service to Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo within its first 18 months of its startup, he doggedly lobbied to bring JetBlue to Stewart. In December 2004, Schumer set up a meeting between top JetBlue executives and Stewart President Chuck Seliga. Then, in May 2005, JetBlue announced it would be deploying up to 200 Embraer 190 Aircraft over the next several years, and Schumer urged the company to add Stewart to its list of airports served. Schumer vowed to persuade JetBlue to come to Stewart, underscoring to JetBlue time and again that the Hudson Valley region is ripe for JetBlue's service. Schumer joined Stewart Airport earlier in October in welcoming new service from another high-quality, low-fare carrier, AirTran Airways.

"Hudson Valley residents are hungry for air service in the same way all of Upstate New York was when JetBlue first came to New York. I have big plans for Stewart, and will continue to work to build up the airport for years to come. JetBlue is going to be a shot in the arm for this region, because where there are affordable airfares, new visitors and new businesses will follow," Schumer added.

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/record.cfm?id=265153&&year=2006&