Air traffic sees threats growing on the radar due to the consequences of the war in the Middle East, fundamentally associated with the extra cost of fuel. “It is a situation that, if it continues over time, will be a concern for everyone,” admits Vanessa Requena, chief of staff at the Barcelona-El Prat airport. “The supply is guaranteed for now, but if the time comes when it is not, we will have to think about an adjustment to the programming,” Requena conceded this Friday, on the verge of the start of the summer season at the Barcelona airport, a traditional peak of activity for the facility.
Aena does not reveal what margin the reserves give or from what moment the situation of access to fuel may be compromised for the airlines. The price of aviation fuel has risen between 20% and 25%, according to Marty St. George, president of the North American company JetBlue, which, this Friday, inaugurated its first connection between Boston and Barcelona. The head of JetBlue admits that there may be uncertainties about the evolution of the aviation business but emphasizes that, in the case of flights between the United States and Barcelona, “demand is strong.”
The landing of JetBlue in Barcelona adds fuel to the fire of competition between airlines that fly between the United States and Catalonia, such as American Airlines, United or Delta. JetBlue says to avoid the term low cost but taking into account their tight rates, 399 euros per trip in tourist class and 1,699 euros in businessJetBlue arrives to challenge Level’s position in Barcelona. Just at a time when he teaches it low cost of the IAG group is in the withdrawal phase and has canceled its route to San Francisco (California).
The new route to Boston will connect the Catalan airport with Logan International Airport from April to October, to respond to “the growing demand for leisure, business and academic trips,” according to the company. The flights are covered with an Airbus A321 and, according to Marty St. George, reinforces the offer between two cities that share common interests in sectors such as technology, studies, culture or tourism. “It is a strategic connection,” stated the president of JetBlue, and regarding the accumulation of a similar offer between different companies he has been clear: “when there is competition, everyone benefits.”
For her part, the chief of staff of the Barcelona-El Prat airport, Vanessa Requena, has indicated that the new route “responds to high demand, with more than 1.5 million indirect passengers between the United States and Barcelona, including more than 59,000 between Boston and Barcelona in 2025.”
In this way, Barcelona becomes JetBlue’s second destination in Spain – after the inauguration of the route to Madrid last year – and becomes the seventh city in which the airline operates in Europe.
From Boston, the airline offers more than 130 daily departures to more than 65 destinations, connected to the JetBlue network in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport registered a monthly passenger record in March, with 4.5 million users, 5.4% more than in the same month of the previous year. The number of international travelers was 3.4 million, 6.4% more, and national travelers reached 1,178,739 passengers, 2.8% more than the same month last year.
