JetBlue scoops Heathrow slots for 3Q21

JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) has secured slots for services to London Heathrow from Boston and New York JFK starting on August 2, 2021, broadening its options for the forthcoming transatlantic debut planned for this summer as it also holds slots at London Gatwick. According to the March 26, 2021, start of season report, JetBlue Airways will be able to operate daily to Heathrow starting in early August. As of September 13, 2021, the carrier will have slots for 11x weekly services to London, increasing to 14x weekly as of September 20. In total, the airline was allocated 135 slot pairs for the entire Summer 2021 scheduling season, all of them concentrated in the second half. Two-thirds of these slots are for its New York JFK route and the remainder for Boston flights. The airline has kept schtum about its exact London plans, including launch date and airport choice. Its slots at Gatwick mirror its Heathrow allocation and also start on August 2, 2021. However, although it also had slots at London Stansted for this summer season, JetBlue has returned them, according to the season coordination report. JetBlue Airways plans to use its yet-to-be-delivered A321-200NX(LR)s for its maiden transatlantic services. Bamboo Airways (QH, Hanoi) has also secured slots at Heathrow starting on April 26 for 2x weekly service in the first week and 6x weekly henceforth. It will be allowed to operate a total of 157 flights to Heathrow this summer season, including 79 from Hanoi and 78 from Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnamese carrier will use B787-9s for its first European service. Among other carriers securing their maiden slots at Heathrow in the Summer 2021 season include WestJet (which has thus far served Gatwick), RwandAir, China Airlines, SpiceJet, and Vistara.