FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 5, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
JetBlue announces it will stay at corporate
headquarters in Long Island City
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
New York’s hometown airline is staying
grounded in Long Island City.
JetBlue has decided to keep its corporate
headquarters in Queensboro Plaza
and it will add jobs as its footprint grows
at JFK International Airport.
“Some people call New York the Big
Apple. Others call it the center of the universe.
At JetBlue, we call it home,” said
Robin Hayes, chief executive offi cer at
JetBlue. “Our unique brand and culture
have been embraced by millions of New
Yorkers for more than two decades, and
we remain committed to helping bring
this iconic city back from one of the
greatest crises it has ever faced. A lot of
out-of-town airlines like to talk big about
New York City, but as the only airline
based right here, no one knows like we
do why this city has always been – and
still is – such a great place to live, work
and visit.”
JetBlue had been contemplating a move
to Florida when its current lease expires
in 2023, but a full-court press from elected
offi cials and business leaders in Queens
beginning in March may have helped
keep the airline — and its 1,300 corporate
workers and another 7,000 JetBlue
employees who work at various locations
including LaGuardia and JFK airports —
in western Queens.
“I would like to thank all of our partners
and supporters for their collaboration. I’d
especially like to thank Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer, who has been our steadfast
friend and strong supporter since our
founding 21 years ago, always realizing
the importance of JetBlue’s low fares in
our eight Empire State airports, the jobs
they add to the economy and the importance
of having our head offi ce based right
here in New York City,” Hayes said. “No
one has been there more in the most pivotal
moments of our history, leading the
way for crucial payroll support during this
pandemic through the CARES Act, allowing
us to continue our record of never furloughing
a single crew member.”
Schumer, who also implored the airline
to stay in Queens, said JetBlue’s
announcement will help the city recover
from the darkest days of the COVID-19
pandemic and the economic turmoil that
came with the shutdown.
“Th ousands of new jobs connected
to JetBlue’s growing presence at JFK,
paired with the company re-affi rming
its commitment to being NYC’s hometown
airline are great news,” Schumer
said. “During the pandemic, I shepherded
unprecedented relief to the aviation
sector that saved hundreds of thousands
of jobs and the entire airline industry. I
am encouraged that having survived the
worst of it, JetBlue is adding jobs, reinvesting
and recommitting to New York.”
Th e budget air carrier was created in
Forest Hills in 1998 and has been headquartered
in Long Island City since 2012.
JetBlue plans to stay at its current home
in the Brewster Building at 27-01 Queens
Plaza North in Long Island City, where
the company has been based since 2012
and is home to its iconic rooft op sign.
JetBlue intends to negotiate and execute a
lease over the next few months and then
re-design its offi ce space to be responsive
to rapidly evolving workplace trends that
have accelerated during the pandemic.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards, who previously called on the
Port Authority to work with JetBlue so
the company could remain at their location,
said it was a “privilege to work” with
them in the monthslong campaign to
keep them in the borough.
“JetBlue is a valuable corporate partner
here in Queens, and I am overjoyed
they will keep their headquarters in Long
Island City,” Richards said. “By remaining
here in Queens, our borough is connected
to one of the world’s largest airlines and
entrusted with thousands of jobs that will
surely revitalize our economy. Queens is
fl ying high today and open for business.”
JetBlue will also expand its footprint
at LaGuardia Airport beyond its current
space at the historic Marine Air
Terminal and partially move into the airport’s
recently opened and state-of-theart
Terminal B later this year with plans
to move completely in 2022.
“I’m proud of New York’s hometown
airline for keeping their team in the greatest
city in the world,” Mayor Bill de Blasio
said. “New York City is building a recovery
for all of us, and that means keeping
iconic companies like JetBlue here at
home. We’re excited to keep them around
and we look forward to years of collaboration
to come.”
QNS fi le photo
JetBlue has decided to keep its corporate headquarters in Long Island City and create more jobs.
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