JetBlue to Open First-ever Crew Base Outside of the Continental U.S.

JetBlue will open its first-ever crew base outside of the continental United States in Puerto Rico, further cementing the airline’s expansion plans on the island.

The new crew base for pilots and flight attendants will open at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan later this year, the airline shared with Travel + Leisure. The base will open in phases and have the capacity for up to 120 pilots and 325 inflight crew.

“We are very excited to have hundreds more crew members here in San Juan, where we are proud to be the largest airline with plans to grow even more,” Warren Christie, JetBlue’s chief operating officer, said in a statement shared with T+L. “The new crew base will support our operation as we grow and will benefit the local economy in a place we are proud to call home.”

The new base is expected to bring more than 400 local jobs to San Juan.

Carlos Mercado Santiago, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, called the new base “a milestone in the island’s air access history” and said it will “provide additional network expansion opportunities for the airline, as well as create new local jobs and increase the tourism industry’s contribution to Puerto Rico’s economic growth.” 

It also comes as JetBlue plans to expand flights to the island. In October, the carrier will launch service to and from Puerto Rico and six new destinations, including Providence, Rhode Island, Westchester, New York, and Cancun. With the addition of the new flights, JetBlue will now fly to a total of 18 destinations from Puerto Rico.

JetBlue also plans to make it more luxurious to get to the island by introducing its business class Mint cabin for the first time on flights between San Juan and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in July. JetBlue’s Mint experience includes lie-flat seats, menus from New York City restaurants Pasquale Jones, Charlie Bird, and Legacy Records, and Tuft & Needle bedding.