New York's Senator
CHARLES E. SCHUMER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 11, 2000

SCHUMER WELCOMES JETBLUE TO WESTERN NEW YORK

Senator Declares Era of Sky-High Air Fares Over

Schumer Fulfills Promise to Make Lower Fares, More Frequent Service a Reality for Western New York

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today welcomed JetBlue Airways, a new, low-fare airline, to the city of Buffalo as the airline began regular service between Buffalo and New York City. Schumer lobbied the Department of Transportation relentlessly on Jet Blue's behalf to obtain 75 precious take-off and landing slots at John F. Kennedy Airport.

Schumer first met JetBlue CEO David Neeleman shortly after his election to the United States Senate in November, 1998. At that meeting, Schumer pledged to work hard to secure the slot exemptions JetBlue needed at JFK. In return, Neeleman made a commitment to fly to one Upstate city on JetBlue's first day of service, as well as two others within their first 18 months of operation.

During a day-long fly-around on August 18, 1999, Schumer introduced Neeleman and JetBlue to business and community leaders in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. At a Capitol Hill ceremony on September 16, 1999, Schumer and Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater presented JetBlue with their 75 take-off and landing slots, clearing the last major hurdle in JetBlue's effort to bring low-fare air service to Upstate New York.

The following is Senator Schumer's statement from JetBlue's ribbon-cutting ceremony in Buffalo this morning:

As I said once before when JetBlue received its final approval to begin commercial flying, I stand here like a proud uncle to witness the birth of a great new airline and a great new opportunity for Western New York and all of Upstate.

After years of suffering with some of the highest airfares in the country, we can now say conclusively that the era of sky high airfares in Western New York is over. And it's not just the end of high airfares. Today we welcome the best, the newest, the most advanced, and the most affordable service in the nation.

In terms of air service, Western New York has gone from worst to first. Starting today, Buffalo can boast a top of the line air carrier befitting a city of its stature.

And to the other airlines who have had a monopolistic grip on Western New York for so long, I have 2 words of friendly advice -- get ready. The elixir of free market competition has arrived at Buffalo Niagara Airport.

I want to salute David Neeleman for recognizing a great business opportunity, for recognizing that Upstate has been poorly served by the stodgy air carriers that have charged exorbitant fares, and for filling the niche with a top quality service that will really make a difference here.

And I also want to salute the people in this room. This is an example of what we can accomplish if we work together -- Democrats and Republicans; upstate and downstate; public sector and private sector -- for a common goal that benefits all New Yorkers. This will save the typical Western New York family who struggles to pay for one vacation a year several hundred dollars. That's real money for most people.

But more importantly, I believe we are turning a page for Buffalo's economy. When you listen to the leaders of the types of global businesses that are growing in today's economy they are looking for locations that are convenient and inexpensive to travel to. Buffalo has always lost that battle to other cities.

With JetBlue, now we have better than a fighting chance. Now we can compete with Charlotte and Baltimore and other cities for growing businesses. And I want to say to families and businesses in Rochester and Syracuse that your turn is not far behind.

On a personal note, this is the culmination of more than one year of close work with JetBlue and David Neeleman. I met David Neeleman before I was sworn in to the Senate, after I had campaigned on bringing lower airfares to upstate.

Over the last two years, I have flown to Buffalo more than 30 times. Most of those times I have paid far too much for a tiny, bumpy propellor plane flight where I was lucky to get a bag of peanuts. From my first flight to my last, I believed that if the upstate economy was to reach its potential we needed modern, affordable air service. David and I talked about the potential of upstate and he promised me that if I was able to obtain landing slots at JFK, JetBlue would serve at least 3 upstate cities with discount fares.

Together we worked with the FAA to obtain landing slots at JFK. We worked with Congressman Meeks to solve the noise problem for his Queens constituents. We worked with the entire delegation to win slots. We worked with the governor, the mayors of Upstate and Downstate cities and we worked and worked and worked.

We are here today, not only because David Neeleman is a man of his word, but because he believes in Buffalo and believes in Upstate. So do I and so do we all.

I love visiting Buffalo. Now I will love flying to Buffalo.