DANIA BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) today announced the renewal of its partnership with the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers, now with the leading role taken by JetBlue Vacations, operated by JetBlue Travel Products based in Dania Beach, Florida. The partnership renewal extends JetBlue’s 14-year relationship with the Panthers, and not only solidifies their long-standing relationship, but also reinforces JetBlue’s unwavering commitment to the community of South Florida.
Since JetBlue’s entry into South Florida, the airline has been able to provide customers with low fares and great service, with the number of people flying in and out of Fort Lauderdale doubling from about 16 million in 2000 to nearly 32 million in 2022. In addition to JetBlue’s designation as the “Official Domestic Airline” of the Florida Panthers, JetBlue Vacations will engage with fans through various touchpoints at FLA Live Arena as they cheer on their favorite team. At select games, fans can participate in JetBlue Vacations themed games in between periods and expect exclusive offers for their next vacation.
“JetBlue Vacations and the Florida Panthers share a common vision of fostering community spirit and bringing people together,” said Andres Barry, President, JetBlue Travel Products. “We are thrilled to renew our multi-year sponsorship with the Florida Panthers and join forces to support local initiatives and engage with fans, making a positive impact on the South Florida community that has been instrumental in our success.”
JetBlue has laid out an ambitious growth plan for South Florida, enabled by its planned combination with Spirit, and expects to reach more than 250 daily departures from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood by 2027. This expansion will bring more of JetBlue’s low-fares and much-loved experience to more destinations, increasing competition and positioning Fort Lauderdale as an even more compelling choice for South Florida customers.
“Ever since our first flight 23 years ago, South Florida has held a special place in JetBlue’s heart, and this partnership with the Florida Panthers further demonstrates our dedication to the region”, said Robin Hayes, CEO, JetBlue. “As we continue to expand our presence in South Florida and bring the JetBlue Experience to more customers, we are proud to stand alongside the Panthers as they inspire and entertain fans on and off the ice.”
To kick off the partnership, the Florida Panthers in conjunction with JetBlue Vacations, will also host a volunteer event today, August 17, 2023, with Broward Partnership, the largest comprehensive homeless services provider in Broward County, to prepare and serve a meal to those in need. The Partnership operates the Central Homeless Assistance Center in Fort Lauderdale and the North Homeless Assistance Center in Pompano Beach providing street outreach, 498 beds of emergency shelter, over 100 units of scattered-site permanent housing interventions in Broward County, rapid rehousing, and a complete array of health and social services for men, women and families with children experiencing homelessness.
“The Florida Panthers are proud to solidify our time-honored partnership with JetBlue, a company which firmly aligns with our common values with a demonstrated history of serving the South Florida community, providing quality service to customers while working to inspire the next generation,” said Panthers Chief Revenue Officer Shawn Thornton. “Through this relationship, Panthers Territory Members will now be able to take advantage of a variety of unique and cost-saving experiences through JetBlue Vacations.”
Other aspects of the partnership consist of various marketing assets such as schedule page entitlement on FloridaPanthers.com, WiFi splash page entitlement, in-game features, DED (digitally enhanced dasher boards), LED ribbon boards and more. Other elements include social media and interactive fan engagement activities, special JetBlue Vacations deals for flight + hotel packages to away games, and much more.
From travel planning to the flight home, JetBlue Vacations offers flights + hotel and flights + cruise packages with the option to add cars, transfers and more. Benefits of booking with JetBlue Vacations include the Insider Experience program and Very Important Perks (VIP), which infuse humanity and additional value into every step of the travel experience. For more information, visit jetbluevacations.com or call 1-844- JB-VACAY to reach a team of 24/7 vacation planning experts, who can help book every detail of your next trip.
For more information, visit jetbluevacations.com or call 1-844-JBVACAY, option 1 to reach a team of 24/7 Travel Experts.
About JetBlue Travel Products
JetBlue Travel Products is a wholly owned subsidiary of JetBlue Airways Corporation, which consists of the JetBlue Vacations brand (offering flight + hotel and flight + cruise packages) and other non-air travel products including Paisly by JetBlue, JetBlue’s homegrown travel website that gives travelers access to exclusive savings and points on cars, stays, activities and travel bags. Based in Dania Beach, Florida, with a fully dedicated team of more than 300 crewmembers, JetBlue Travel Products builds on the JetBlue brand and brings to market innovative, quality products for customers, while infusing humanity into every step of the travel experience. For more information, visit jetbluevacations.com or paisly.com.
About JetBlue
JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Juan. JetBlue, known for its low fares and great service, carries customers to more than 100 destinations throughout the United States, Latin America, Caribbean, Canada, the United Kingdom and France. For more information and the best fares, visit jetblue.com.
About The Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers celebrate the franchise’s 30th season in the National Hockey League in 2023-24. The NHL’s southernmost team, the Panthers are coming off a season where the club earned the 2022-23 Prince of Wales Trophy as Eastern Conference Champions en route to the organization’s second appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. Under General Manager Bill Zito and Head Coach Paul Maurice, the Cats have grown into a tenacious, dynamic, and exciting team led by captain Aleksander Barkov and superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk. At home in Sunrise, Fla., at FLA Live Arena, the Panthers welcome fans from the tri-county area, the South Florida region and beyond. An organization with deep roots in the community, a pillar program ‘Heroes Among Us’ honors a military veteran at each game.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 995, as amended. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “indicates,” “remains,” “believes,” “estimates,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “goals,” “targets” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed, or assured. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and are based on information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements due to many factors, including, without limitation, the COVID-19 pandemic and government-imposed measures to control its spread; risk associated with execution of our strategic operating plans in the near-term and long-term; our extremely competitive industry; risks related to the long-term nature of our fleet order book; volatility in fuel prices and availability of fuel; increased maintenance costs associated with fleet age; costs associated with salaries, wages and benefits; risks associated with doing business internationally; our reliance on high daily aircraft utilization; our dependence on the New York metropolitan market; risks associated with extended interruptions or disruptions in service at our focus cities; risks associated with airport expenses; risks associated with seasonality and weather; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers; risks related to new or increased tariffs imposed on commercial aircraft and related parts imported from outside the United States; the outcome of legal proceedings with respect to our Northeast Alliance with American Airlines Group Inc. and our planned wind-down of the Northeast Alliance; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of JetBlue or Spirit or both of them to terminate the Merger Agreement; failure to obtain certain governmental approvals necessary to consummate the merger with Spirit (the “Merger”); the outcome of the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice and certain state Attorneys General against us and Spirit related to the Merger; risks associated with failure to consummate the Merger in a timely manner or at all; risks associated with the pendency of the Merger and related business disruptions; indebtedness following consummation of the Merger and associated impacts on business flexibility, borrowing costs and credit ratings; the possibility that JetBlue may be unable to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies within the expected timeframes or at all; challenges associated with successful integration of Spirit’s operations; expenses related to the Merger and integration of Spirit; the potential for loss of management personnel and other key crewmembers as a result of the Merger; risks associated with effective management of the combined company following the Merger; risks associated with JetBlue being bound by all obligations and liabilities of the combined company following consummation of the Merger; risks associated with the integration of JetBlue and Spirit workforce, including with respect to negotiation of labor agreements and labor costs; the impact of the Merger on JetBlue’s earnings per share; risks associated with cybersecurity and privacy, including information security breaches; heightened regulatory requirements concerning data security compliance; risks associated with reliance on, and potential failure of, automated systems to operate our business; our inability to attract and retain qualified crewmembers; our being subject to potential unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labor costs; reputational and business risk from an accident or incident involving our aircraft; risks associated with damage to our reputation and the JetBlue brand name; our significant amount of fixed obligations and the ability to service such obligations; our substantial indebtedness and impact on our ability to meet future financing needs; financial risks associated with credit card processors; restrictions as a result of our participation in governmental support programs under the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act; risks associated with seeking short-term additional financing liquidity; failure to realize the full value of intangible or long-lived assets, causing us to record impairments; risks associated with disease outbreaks or environmental disasters affecting travel behavior; compliance with future environmental regulations; the impacts of federal budget constraints or federally imposed furloughs; impact of global climate change and legal, regulatory or market response to such change; changes in government regulations in our industry; acts of war or terrorism; changes in global economic conditions or an economic downturn leading to a continuing or accelerated decrease in demand for air travel; and risks associated with the implementation of 5G wireless technology near airports that we operate in. It is routine for our internal projections and expectations to change as the year or each quarter in the year progresses, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections, beliefs, and assumptions upon which we base our expectations may change prior to the end of each quarter or year. Any outlook or forecasts in this press release have been prepared without taking into account or consideration of the Merger with Spirit.
Given the risks and uncertainties surrounding forward-looking statements, you should not place undue reliance on these statements. You should understand that many important factors, in addition to those discussed or incorporated by reference in this press release, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Further information concerning these and other factors is contained in JetBlue’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including but not limited to, JetBlue’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Other than as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
