JetBlue, Worcester Take Mutual ‘Love’ To The Web
Responding to a Twitter video contest started by a local businessman to bring JetBlue Airways to Worcester, the discount carrier traded video valentines with the city, sharing its own entry, titled "JetBlue loves Massachusetts."
A cash prize of $2,000 is being offered by Bill Randell and Advantage Benefits to the winner who creates a one-to-two-minute video describing why he or she thinks JetBlue should come to Worcester Regional Airport and posts it to Twitter with the hashtag #JetBlue2ORH.
On Wednesday, Allison Steinberg, a JetBlue spokeswoman, said the carrier is still evaluating the possibility of adding flights in Worcester, but there's "no definitive word." It's "one of the cities we're looking at," Steinberg said.
JetBlue's one-minute, 38 second video posted to its YouTube account on Tuesday starts by saying it decided to enter the contest because, "as a value airline, we figured we could put the cash to good use."
It goes on to show a Massachusetts native employee saying the JetBlue does a lot of research before choosing a destination. The first point would be to figure out how to pronounce Worcester. The video shows the employee showing a sign reading "Worcester" to several other people, asking how to pronounce the city's name, which no one seems to know how to do.
In the end, the company didn't let on what it's plans are, but said, "JetBlue loves Massachusetts. Thanks for loving us back!"
On Wednesday afternoon, the City of Worcester released its own entry with Mayor Joseph Petty and City Manager Michael V. O'Brien showing that "Worcester is a city on the move" and touting it as being a convenient location. In the video, Petty explains that Worcester has the most people in a 50-mile radius of any city this side of New York.Text at the end promises that Worcester would bring thousands of new passengers to the airline.
JetBlue has been considering the prospect of coming to Worcester, which has been without a commercial carrier since DirectAir abruptly suspended service in March and subsequently liquidated. Published reports have quoted JetBlue CEO David J. Barger saying the airport will need to upgrade its instrument landing system in order for the New York-based airline to consider coming there. The investment would reportedly cost up to $25 million.
Barger is reportedly planning to visit Worcester on Aug. 22.
Last month, JetBlue announced that it would begin nonstop flights from Providence to Florida. It already has flights out of Boston.
Contest entries will be accepted until 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17.
(Rick Saia of the WBJ staff contributed to this report.)
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