Dawn had not yet broken in snowy New York City on Thursday morning, but Savannahians — always up for a party — already were celebrating at Gate 16 at JFK International Airport.
Passengers and guests from Savannah, Bluffton, S.C., and Hilton Head Island, S.C., joined JetBlue executives and crew members for a Lowcountry breakfast, music, a putting green, a visit from Forrest Gump and a ribbon-cutting before boarding Flight 841 for its inaugural flight to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson, as cheery and enthusiastic at 6 a.m. as she was at a reception the night before, stood with the captain to welcome each passenger aboard.
“Are you ready?” she asked. “We’re ready to take this plane to Savannah!”
After a thorough de-icing, Flight 841 was cleared and took off in heavy, swirling snow, heading south.
Hilton Head Mayor Drew Laughlin, noting that some 11 million passengers come through JetBlue’s terminal at JFK each year, said he hoped this flight would be the first of many.
“We hope to see lots of those folks headed our way,” he said. “We, like JetBlue, aim to exceed our customers’ expectations.”
But Thursday’s takeoff party wasn’t the group’s first celebration.
The aptly named Blue Room at the top of the toney Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel buzzed with excited conversation, music and blue cocktails Wednesday evening as JetBlue hosted a reception for the Savannah/Hilton Head group.
“There was a great partnership that went into the effort to get JetBlue to come into our region,” airport executive director Greg Kelly told the group. “And one of our biggest partners was Hilton Head Island, which — along with Bluffton and the rest of the Lowcountry — accounts for almost 50 percent of the traffic that comes through our airport. We are truly a regional airport.”
Bill Miles agreed.
“The Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport has truly changed the face of the South Carolina Lowcountry in the last 20 years,” said Miles, CEO of the Hilton Head Chamber of Commerce, adding that the airport enters a new chapter with the addition of JetBlue.
“We know that, every day, JetBlue is being asked by many communities to come into their market,” Miles said. “We’re honored that they have chosen Savannah and Hilton Head, and we’re here tonight, not just for the inaugural flight, but to make sure JetBlue is successful in our market day in and day out.”
Mark Powers, CFO of JetBlue, presented models of JetBlue aircraft to Jackson, Laughlin, Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka and Savannah Airport Commission Chairman Sylvester Formey.
Touting the comfort and convenience of his planes — “more legroom, with Wi-Fi and live TV on the way” — Powers announced that JetBlue has already bumped up the size of the planes that will service Savannah.
“Our first flights will be on an Embraer E190, a100-seater,” Powers told the group. “But, because of your hard work in selling our airline, within a month, you’ll be getting 150-seaters.
“To put this in perspective, Pittsburgh is still flying E190s, and we’ve been in that market for five years,” he said. “You guys haven’t even started, and you’ve already upgraded to 150-seaters.
“Congratulations.”
Once on the ground in Savannah on Thursday morning, it was time for the third celebration in less than 15 hours, this one in the airport’s Savannah Square, as Formey took the stage to welcome his fellow passengers home.
“It was nip and tuck getting out of New York,” he said. “We might have been the last flight that got out, but it was obviously meant to be. Our pilots were the ultimate professionals, getting us here in comfort and style.”
Formey thanked JetBlue officials as well as fellow airport commissioners, airport executive director Greg Kelly and his staff, the Savannah Chamber of Commerce and Visit Savannah, the Savannah Economic Development Authority and the mayors of Savannah, Bluffton and Hilton Head for working in partnership to bring JetBlue to Savannah.
Formey called Edna Jackson “Savannah’s ultimate ambassador.”
“She led us through the last few days with energy and charm.”
Mary Neff, vice president of strategic sourcing for JetBlue, said Savannah was the airline’s 83rd destination.
“The support that we’ve gotten from the airport commission, the Hilton Head chamber and Visit Savannah has been amazing — absolutely the best, bar none, of our 83 destinations,” she said.
When JetBlue comes into a new city, Neff said, it’s important to establish a connection with the community. To that end, the airline will partner with “First Books” to make an initial donation of more than 500 books to Otis J. Brock III Elementary School in Savannah.
JetBlue’s return flight to JFK departed Savannah shortly before noon and arrived in New York at 1:37.