JetBlue Says Goodbye to Its First Aircraft, Airbus A320 “Bluebird”

JetBlue, one of the leading airlines in the US, has bid farewell to its first-ever aircraft, an Airbus A320 named ‘Bluebird’. The aircraft, which was delivered to the airline on December 1, 1999, flew its last commercial flight from Nassau, the Bahamian capital, to New York City on August 1, 2023.

“Bluebird” was the first of more than 200 Airbus A320s that JetBlue operates today, serving over 100 destinations across the Americas and Europe. The aircraft was also part of JetBlue’s inaugural flight from Buffalo to New York JFK in February 2000, with guests including the then-founder and president of JetBlue, David Neeleman, and the then-mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani.

Rob Land, the current Head of Government Affairs and Associate General Counsel at JetBlue, as well as one of the airline’s founding members, expressed his gratitude to every crew member who cared for “Bluebird” and its passengers over the last 23 years. He also shared some photos and memories of the aircraft on his Twitter account.

According to ch-aviation.com data, “Bluebird” accumulated 85,199 flight hours and 31,622 flight cycles as of April 30, 2023. The aircraft was temporarily stored at Marana Pinal Airpark in January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned to service in March 2021.

The retirement of “Bluebird” marks the end of an era for JetBlue, which has been modernizing its fleet with newer and more fuel-efficient Airbus A220s and A321s. The airline also recently launched flights to London and Paris from New York and Boston, using its Airbus A321LRs and A321XLRs.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, msn.com, aerotime.aero, simpleflying.com