The American airline soon wanted to start its flights between Boston and London. But now this has been delayed by several weeks – because Airbus A321 LR is delivering too late.
It was an exciting first for Jetblue. On August 11, 2021, the American airline flew across the North Atlantic for the first time. Since then, it has connected New York JFK with the two London airports Gatwick and Heathrow once a day. It uses Airbus A321 LR, which offers a business class with 24 suites.
On July 19th and August 22nd, the third and fourth long-distance routes were to be added. But now there is a delay. Jetblue announced that flights from Boston to London Heathrow will start two weeks later and those to London Gatwick four weeks later than planned. The airline is now giving August 4 and September 20 as the new start dates.
Bottlenecks at suppliers
Airbus is to blame for the delay. The aircraft manufacturer recently informed them that the delivery of two A321 LRs would be delayed, Jetblue explains. Airbus recently warned some customers that aircraft deliveries could be delayed. The reason for this are bottlenecks at suppliers.
Jetblue currently owns four A321 LRs. For the variant with extra range, Airbus has adapted the A321 Neo at many ends. A new fuselage section was developed in the middle. In addition, the new aircraft got three additional tanks in the middle of the aircraft, which increases the range, but also means a loss of cargo capacity.