The Dutch government has taken a good first step by suspending shrinkage plans for Schiphol for next summer. So says the American company JetBlue, when asked. On Tuesday, Minister Harbers (Aviation) announced that the shrinkage plans for Schiphol (the experimental scheme, ed.) will be suspended for next year. The plans would affect the number of slots of existing airlines at Schiphol, as well as 24 airlines that have not accumulated historical rights, so that they would not be able to fly at Schiphol at all from the summer of 2024. Among them was American JetBlue, which had not been allocated any slots for summer season 2024. JetBlue has only been flying two scheduled services from New York JFK and Boston to Schiphol Airport since last summer. The US disagreed with the contraction and threatened countermeasures, which would particularly affect KLM. The EU also took issue with the plans because Harbers would not have acted according to European rules in reducing the number of flight movements. That means the number of slots at Schiphol will remain at a maximum of 500,000 for the time being, and not drop to 460,000 next year, as the minister had anticipated. ‘We continue to advocate for a long-term solution that allows for new entrants and competitors in the market such as JetBlue,’ a spokesperson for the U.S. carrier told TravMagazine from the U.S. “We thank the U.S. government for their commitment to upholding the principles of the Open Skies Treaty, allowing JetBlue to maintain access to this valuable Amsterdam airport.” “JetBlue entered the Amsterdam market this year from both New York and Boston and has already proven its value to customers: it offers both low fares and good service in a market dominated by a single joint venture. Without JetBlue flights, this high-fare joint venture would have a complete monopoly on all flights between New York’s and Boston’s JFK airports to Amsterdam. JetBlue concludes with: ‘We are now urging the Dutch government and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that we have access to Schiphol this summer so that we can continue to bring JetBlue’s low fares and great service to Amsterdam.’ (Photo: JetBlue).
