JetBlue To Scale Back Flights Above Seal Beach

SEAL BEACH, CA — While travelers might grumble at JetBlue's plans to scale back flights out of Long Beach Airport, many residents in Seal Beach will rejoice.

JetBlue Airways announced Wednesday it will be reducing its service from Long Beach Airport, trimming a dozen flights from its schedule yet adding service to Colorado and Montana. Fewer flights will mean fewer planes s over the Old Town and Hill areas. The noise and pollution from the planes have long been a point of contention from Seal Beach residents. In 2011, City Councilwoman Ellery Deaton lobbied lawmakers and airport officials to address the problem by shifting flight patterns.

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According to JetBlue, the adjustments in Long Beach service were being made "to better meet the needs of the market."

The airline will offer 23 daily flights at the airport, down from its current 35, reducing the airline's service to 2016 levels. Marty St. George, the airline's vice president of commercial and planning, said the revisions will allow Jetblue "to offer customers new destinations, capitalize on our leadership position in transcontinental flying and advance our margin commitments in Long Beach where certain flying constraints have created challenges."

The city of Long Beach last year rejected the proposed construction of a customs facility at the airport that would have opened the door for international flights.

While reducing the overall number of flights, JetBlue announced it was adding service from Long Beach to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and Bozeman, Montana.

JetBlue also announced that it will be adding service between Boston and Hollywood Burbank Airport, beginning Sept. 5. It will also add a second daily flight to and from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

The Long Beach Airport noise complaint number is 562-570-2665 and the JetBlue customer relations number is 1-800-365-2470.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report; Photo By Austin Deppe, Shutterstock