(NECN: Kristen Carosa) - Up, up and away....the rain didn't damper JetBlue's very first flight out of Worcester, Mass. Thursday afternoon. JetBlue finally launched their much-talked about service with a sold-out flight.
JetBlue has officially landed in Worcester. The airline's first flight into the city from Florida landed Thursday afternoon.
Passengers like Bill and Wendy Costello of Milford got quite a welcome as they entered Worcester Regional Airport.
“This is awesome; they didn't say anything about this down in Florida; this is quite a surprise,” Bill said.
After more than 20 months without airline service, JetBlue will be offering two flights a day to Florida; there will be one to Orlando and one to Fort Lauderdale.
“We are so excited to be here; I think the city of Worcester is equally if not more excited that we are here; we are so happy to be serving this community, bringing back air travel to this area,” said Joanna Geraghty.
Scott Hemming from Webster was among the first to buy his ticket to Florida. He's part of the first flight out of Worcester to Fort Lauderdale.
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“It’s great for me; from Webster it only took 20 minutes to come in and I'm at the airport; it’s great.”
The inaugural flight will carry residents like Hemming but also local officials who are flying down to meet with businesses in Florida.
Mayor Joe Petty was among those ready to take off.
“It’s going to be great; JetBlue is a quality outfit; they do a great job and people like flying JetBlue; I think they'll expand,” the Mayor said.
Residents like Peter O'Connor from Oakham say they'll be a frequent flyer.
O’Connor says he loves Florida and looks forward to many flights on the airline.
“It’s nice, sunny and warm,” he said.
“We are very confident that at the end of the day people are going to be happy with the service; they are going to buy tickets and they will create the demand for more destinations,” said MassPort CEO Thomas Glynn.
Depending on the success of the two flights, JetBlue says they may add more flights and more destinations in the future.
“We would absolutely love to grow here in Worcester but we need the community, the government and businesses to support us in that growth.”
