JetBlue adding additional SJU/Orlando route in Ponce
Mercedita Airport (Credit: www.wikipedia.org)
JetBlue will be increasing its frequency between Ponce’s Mercedita Airport to Orlando, Florida through an additional daily flight starting today, Puerto Rico Ports Authority officials said Thursday.
The added round-trip will represent an $11.9 million economic boost for the southern region, said Ports Authority Executive Director Víctor Suárez during a news conference at the regional facility following an emergency drill conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Aside from the new daily connection between the island and Florida, Suárez said JetBlue will also be using bigger aircraft — A-320s with a capacity for 150 passengers, rather than the Embraer 190, which fit up to 100 people.
“Mercedita Airport will be attending each day an estimated 500 passengers more than what it currently serves,” Suárez said. “The arrival of 250 more passengers daily will impact the economy by $11.9 million and create 219 indirect jobs for the southern region during the period of high demand, between June and October.”
JetBlue also offers a direct flight to New York’s JFK Airport out of Ponce, which combined with service to Orlando, draws about 900 people to Mercedita daily, Suárez noted.
