Consider the flight cancelled. After announcing nonstop daily flights between Islip’s Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma and Logan Airport in Boston via jetBlue last January, the idea has been scrapped only days before the first flight was set to launch on May 1.
“The Islip team has been watching economic indicators that historically affect the aviation industry,” read a statement by Islip Town Hall on April 29. “Most notably, consumer confidence has decreased, discretionary credit card spending is declining, and the total cost of leisure travel, hotel, and airfare is up.”
The statement then cited a Yahoo! article to reinforce the same.
“The Town and airport are committed to supporting its air carrier partners through its marketing efforts in Long Island and at the destination,” said Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter. “But our efforts are only a part of a new destination’s success. We need to put people in seats to keep and retain routes.”
Flights from MacArthur to destinations such as Florida and the Carolinas remain strong. However, the Boston flight would have enabled Long Islanders to travel to the Bay State while bypassing the crowded and bustling transportation hubs of New York City, but if the demand wasn’t there, the demand wasn’t there.
Whether it was unfortunate timing or something else may never be fully understood, as will the likelihood of a Boston/Long Island flight concept being revisited in the future.
