MEMPHIS, TN –
(WMC-TV) – A huge burst of optimism is coming out of Memphis International Airport following two recent meetings with a low cost carrier interested in coming to the Bluff City.
“JetBlue is a great airline. Much like Southwest, they are customer focused,” Jack Sammons said. “I expect they will come at some point.”
Jack Sammons is chairman of the Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority. He said that he and the airport’s president met with JetBlue executives a week ago and said they were “profoundly interested” in coming to Memphis.
A few days later, Sammons got an assist from Memphis Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien, who had business with JetBlue’s CEO.
Sammons told Action News 5, “He was up there to meet with him and he thought, ‘Hey while I’m here why don’t I plug for Memphis.’ What a great partner he is for Memphis and a member of this community and delighted to have him join in the affirmation of this great opportunity for JetBlue to come to Memphis.”
This comes on the heels of Southwest Airlines’ success in Memphis. The company has been here officially since November 2013.
“They’re overwhelmed by their success here,” said Sammons. “I suspect at some point they may very well be our largest carrier in this market.”
Sammons says he will learn more about Southwest’s plans for the upcoming year next week when he visits the company’s headquarters.
As for JetBlue, the problem may be finding enough aircraft to fly in and out of Memphis. Another meeting with JetBlue and Memphis airport leaders is tentatively set up in two months.
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