Paying Homage to JetBlue’s Very First A320

Major North American hybrid airline JetBlue Airways has retired its first Airbus A320 aircraft.

In February 2000, JetBlue commenced operations out of New York John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) with a sole brand-new Airbus A320-200, registered N503JB.

This was the start of a dream come true to “Bring Humanity Back to Air Travel”. Now, more than 23 years later, the very same aircraft that brought JetBlue to life, from what was once a dream of entrepreneur David Neeleman, has gone to pasture for peaceful retirement.

This retirement is significant for the airline as it shows that the first era of rapid entry into the market for the first part of the 21st century is over and the airline is now maturing and reaching its full potential as a hybrid airline in the USA, Latin America, and Europe.

The airline operates a 300-strong fleet of Airbus A320, A321, A321neo, A220-300, and Embraer 190 aircraft.

As part of the airline’s new fleet modernization process, many of the older A320s in the fleet will be gradually removed from service.

The same will happen with the airline’s older Embraer 190s. The airline had ordered A220s and A321neos in order to continue to grow and renew the fleet.

The A320 fleet at JetBlue is rather old, with many of the airframes approaching or exceeding 20 years of service. That being said, the airline operates over 130 of them as of the publication of this article, the majority of these aircraft having been delivered to the airline prior to 2010.

The A320 has a mixture of cabin types, the most common one being the older seat type found on the E190s as well. However, the A320s that JetBlue (B6) plans to keep around a fair bit longer are now configured with the airline’s newest seat type, which can be found on the A220 and A321neo aircraft currently being gradually delivered.