For many students, traveling home from Syracuse for breaks is usually easy and simple. For students like Aubrey Levin, it is a long and exhausting affair.

“Right now, it takes me seven hours and a layover to get to school,” said Levin, a sophomore public relations major from Palm Beach, Florida. “It’s really annoying because that’s almost a full day lost that could have been spent either at home or school.”

But starting in January, JetBlue is expanding its service to include non-stop daily flights from Syracuse to Fort Lauderdale. Flights will begin on Jan. 13, 2016 and continue through May 1, 2016.

“As New York’s Hometown Airline, we are proud to further connect our home state with the Sunshine State by adding this new route between Syracuse and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood,” said Dave Clark, vice president network planning for JetBlue in a press release.

Growing traffic at Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport has left legislative leaders such as Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) trying to convince the airline to re-enact the service, which was discontinued in 2009 due to rising jet fuel costs and seasonal demand, according to the press release.

Schumer said this expansion will boost competition and availability of low-cost flights from Syracuse to this popular destination, particularly in the winter months when demand is highest.

“Expanding JetBlue service at Syracuse Hancock Airport is good news for both residents and the regional economy,” Schumer said in a press release. “There is a clear need for more flights from Syracuse to Florida and I am pleased JetBlue examined this option and will once again offer this route for the residents and business travelers of the Central NY Region.”

Hancock International has been experiencing steady traffic growth over the past few years. Last year, Hancock saw more than two million people pass through its doors, and experienced a steady 2.2 percent growth last month, according to the airport’s monthly report.

Schumer said in the release he hopes that these new flights will increase competition between airline companies, and as a result, drive down prices. JetBlue ranks fourth in passenger traffic at Hancock, behind Delta, US Airways, and United Airlines, according to Hancock International’s 2015 annual report.

Starting in January, Levin can fly to and from Fort Lauderdale, which is a thirty-minute drive from her house, for less than $350.

“I’m so excited,” Levin said. “It’s going to make getting to and from school way less stressful and more enjoyable.”

Tickets went on sale last Wednesday for flights between mid-January until the beginning of March. One-way flights from Syracuse are $79 and include taxi fare.

Published on October 6, 2015 at 9:42 pm

Contact Hanna: hrhorvat@syr.edu