JetBlue plans flights to Paris next year as travel booms

(Reuters) - JetBlue Airways Corp said on Wednesday it would expand its transatlantic coverage by offering flights to Paris next year, seeking to cash in on robust demand for overseas travel.

The transatlantic is the world's most lucrative travel market and accounted for 11% to 17% of passenger revenues at the big three U.S. carriers, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, in pre-pandemic 2019.

U.S. carriers looking to capitalize on the travel boom are responding to consumers emboldened by a stronger U.S. dollar and flexible arrangements that allow them to work from wherever they want by adding more fights to Europe.

JetBlue, which added London to its coverage last year, said it would start selling tickets for flights to Paris in the coming months.

The carrier said it would first launch nonstop service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Paris' Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport in summer 2023, and then add nonstop service between Boston Logan International Airport and CDG.

Shareholders of Spirit Airlines Inc last month voted in favor of JetBlue's $3.8 billion takeover offer, moving the companies closer to creating the nation's fifth-largest carrier.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)