AirTran and JetBlue to provide new daily nonstop, low-cost service from Tampa to San Juan, Puerto Rico

There is much cause to celebrate as Tampa Bay residents will now be able to travel to Puerto Rico daily! “The Puerto Rican population is one of the fastest growing in the Tampa Bay area and working closely with the Latin community, Trudy Carson, air service director, Tampa International Airport, gathered marketing support from various groups to add to the Airport’s commitment. The new AirTran flights, which will begin on April 5, 2011, join the airline’s extensive Caribbean schedule.

"As a Florida-based airline and one that has been operating from Tampa since 1993, we are excited to announce this expanded service and believe the local business and leisure community will support and benefit greatly from quality low fare competition on this route," said Kevin Healy, AirTran Airways' senior vice president of marketing and planning. "There are tremendous synergies between Central Florida and Puerto Rico. San Juan is one of our most popular destinations from Orlando and we are confident it will be an extremely popular destination from Tampa as well." In addition, JetBlue announced plans to expand its San Juan, Puerto Rico focus city and begin daily nonstop service to Tampa International Airport in May 2011 with a second flight beginning in June 2011.

This new route to Florida's second-largest city continues JetBlue's steady expansion in Puerto Rico from the island's three main airports. From Aguadilla, Ponce, and San Juan, JetBlue offers service to destinations on the U.S. mainland including Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, New York, Tampa, plus intra-Caribbean service to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Tickets for JetBlue's new Tampa - San Juan route are currently available onwww.jetblue.com. “We’ve seen a tremendous amount of growth in Puerto Rico in recent years thanks to the support of our loyal customers. “San Juan is a top destination for Tampa. So in bringing this service to Tampa with two airlines, both dedicated to customer service with competitive fares, we know that this will not only increase competition in the market but provide better fare opportunities for our travelers.