Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | Janaury 25, 2021 | wbjournal.com C E N T R A L M AS S I N B R I E F JetBlue deal with American may end Worcester-NYC nonstop flight V E R BAT I M Home sale records "If you told me back then that by the end of the year that the total number of sales would surpass 2019, there's no way I would have believed you… yet here we are." Tim Warren, CEO of real estate data company The Warren Group, commenting on 2020's surprising residential real estate market in Central Massachusetts Breathing room "If the season gets delayed a month, that gives us more breathing room." Mike Traynor, solicitor for the City of Worcester, discussing how a delay to the minor league baseball season could impact construction work at Polar Park Software expansion "The entire focus of our business over the last five years has been marketing and supporting the Slatwall Commerce platform, so it made sense for us to form a company to streamline these efforts." David Crouch, CEO of Worcester software company ten24 and, now, Slatwall Inc., discussing his company's expansion J etBlue Airways and American Airlines have reached an agreement to coordinate their service to the Northeastern United States, which includes a caveat relinquishing JetBlue of the need to maintain service to the Worcester Regional Airport as part of the newly formalized relationship between the two airlines. e agreement, which has been under review by the U.S. Department of Transportation since July 22 and which was approved on Jan. 10, allows for the two commercial airlines to intentionally align their schedules in order to provide better service options to consumers traveling through the Northeast. Certain safeguards will be put in place to protect competition, including strict rules about what each airline will be allowed to discuss during planning meetings. e two companies will not be allowed to discuss, among other things, future fares, fare levels or revenue management strategies, according to DOT documents. ey will also not be allowed to discuss any route, scheduling or capacity decision for any flight outside of what has been termed the Northeast Alliance, or NEA. But the first commitment in the agreement, listed even before the above regulations, stipulates that JetBlue will not exit any non-seasonal, nonstop service to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City it served as of February 2020, except for three cities, one of which is Worcester. e other two exempted cities are Oakland and Long Beach, BY MONICA BUSCH Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer both in California. It was not immediately clear what that caveat meant for the future of either airline servicing Worcester. Both received temporary DOT approval to suspend service to Worcester in the spring of 2020, following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. In the fall, JetBlue said it was unsure when service to the city would resume. A spokesperson for JetBlue said the agreement will not impact its future relationship with Worcester. "e agreement released last week by the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding the strategic alliance between JetBlue and American Airlines reflects JetBlue's temporary suspension of Worcester service, but does not reflect our future plans for Worcester," said Corporate Communications Manager Derek Dombrowski. "We continue to evaluate our service levels while we navigate the current economic climate and travel demand." Until the pandemic stopped all regular commercial flights out of Worcester Regional Airport, JetBlue offered nonstop service to New York City, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. American Airlines provided service to Philadelphia. e third commercial carrier, Delta Air Lines, which provided service to Detroit, ceased serving Worcester as of Oct. 1. It has remained unclear if and when any carrier would once again fly in and out of the city. Massport, which owns and operates the airport, declined to comment on the agreement. W PHOTO/GRANT WELKER A JetBlue airplane sits on the tarmac at Worcester Regional Airport.

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