Officials: JetBlue would add 800 jobs

JetBlue Airways would add more than 800 new jobs and $73 million annually to the local economy if it lands at Long Island MacArthur Airport, officials said Monday in announcing a push to lure the carrier to the Ronkonkoma facility.

The airport is on a short list as JetBlue considers a new destination in the Northeast, according to company officials.

A JetBlue spokeswoman would not say the Queens-based carrier is close to beginning service at MacArthur, which operates at about one-third its daily flight capacity.

"Do we have a fighting chance? Yes, we do," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at a news conference Monday at the airport. "If they take a hard look at the numbers, they'll realize MacArthur is their best choice."

Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan, whose town owns MacArthur, said JetBlue would fill "vacuums in need" at the airport while bringing new jobs and business to the surrounding area via the residual growth of hotels, restaurants, car rental companies and other services.

JetBlue is adding 118 new airplanes to its fleet over the next 10 years, spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said. But it is too early to identify its next destination, or when it will begin adding service, she said.

"Our hometown is in New York," Dervin said. "We'd love to grow from New York. . . . But there are plenty of airports in the Midwest and throughout the Americas that don't have JetBlue services that are under equal consideration."

Islip officials said their employment and economic estimates are based on a 2010 study by the state Department of Transportation about the economic impacts of aviation.

The report states that every passenger at a New York airport generates $840 to $1,215 in economic activity, which includes, for example, visitor and airport employee spending. It also states that every 107 passengers at a downstate airport generates one job. The jobs created include "indirect jobs," such as new hotel jobs and construction projects spurred by greater activity at the airport.

Islip officials said the town's estimates are minimums because they assume JetBlue would run two flights a day. JetBlue typically operates one to five daily flights initially at new destinations, Dervin said.

Nolan said MacArthur is competing with at least two other airports for JetBlue but declined to identify them. Dervin declined to name any airports.

Media reports have identified Philadelphia International Airport and T.F. Green International Airport in Rhode Island as being interested in attracting JetBlue. MacArthur Airport commissioner Teresa Rizzuto promised to work hard "to make this come to fruition."

More than 800,000 passengers boarded planes at MacArthur in 2010. The main carrier is Southwest, which runs 24 daily flights out of the airport.

A Southwest spokeswoman said the carrier is aware JetBlue could make inroads in Islip and welcomes competition.

With Sarah Crichton