JetBlue has announced that it will return to flying between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), a route it axed in 2025, with the airline tapping into United Airlines’ customer pool at IAH, which has a hub there.

Return to Houston

On February 18, 2026, JetBlue announced that it will launch twice-daily departures between JFK and IAH, returning to a route it cut from its network in June 2025.

JetBlue emphasized that the double-daily JFK-IAH route will complement its flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to the airport in Texas, a route that it launched in October 2019.

Flights between JFK and IAH will begin on May 21, with the airline opting to fly its Airbus A320 aircraft on the route.

“With nonstop service between Houston and JFK, customers gain additional access to JetBlue’s broader network, including destinations across the East Coast, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.”

According to Cirium’s Diio Mi, which compiled data from the Department of Transportation (DOT), when JetBlue was still the only airline offering direct flights between JFK and IAH, it carried 101 of the 130 passengers flying the route daily. 

However, after JetBlue canceled flights from JFK to IAH, Delta Air Lines began flying the route daily from September 2025, scheduling flights at least through January 2027, per Cirium’s Diio Mi.

During the first three months of operations, Delta Air Lines’ JFK-IAH services averaged load factors of around 79%.

Leveraging the Blue Sky partnership

For JetBlue, the ‘Blue Sky’ partnership with United Airlines will help the airline attract more passengers, especially those who are looking to fly beyond JFK.

On February 10, the airline confirmed that passengers will now be able to book tickets on either JetBlue or United Airlines’ direct booking channels for travel on either carrier using cash, points, or miles, “giving travelers more freedom to shop and pay the way they prefer while accessing the strengths of either network.”

However, the partnership does not allow passengers to book itineraries that include flights on both airlines, which somewhat limits travelers’ choice. Still, with an expanded pool of potential passengers, it is no surprise that JetBlue chose to return to the Texan airport, providing it with even more visibility on United Airlines’ booking systems.

During the last six months of operations, JetBlue’s JFK-IAH flights averaged load factors of 84.6%, Cirium’s Diio Mi shows.