JetBlue hopes third time's a charm with Cuba flight bid

JetBlue Airways Corp. is again seeking federal permission to launch nonstop flights between Logan International Airport and Cuba.

It’s the third time that Logan’s largest airline has petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation to add the Boston-Havana service; the previous two attempts were rejected. JetBlue currently has daily nonstop Havana service from New York and Orlando, and flies 13 times per week between Fort Lauderdale and Cuba’s capital.

The airline is trying to capitalize on Spirit Airlines’ and Frontier Airlines’ recent decisions to halt their Havana service from Fort Lauderdale and Miami, respectively, next month. Both cited costs that outweighed demand.

JetBlue is seeking six additional weekly direct flights from Fort Lauderdale and one inaugural nonstop flight on Saturdays from Boston starting in November.

“We have always planned to serve Cuba from Boston, and our application for a once-weekly flight reflects demand where there is no competitive service,” JetBlue said in a statement.

The DOT denied JetBlue’s initial request for daily Boston-Havana service last July, when it approved the maximum permitted 20 U.S. commercial flights to Havana as part of then- President Barack Obama’s push to normalize Cuban relations.

Last September, the DOT rejected another JetBlue attempt at Hub service, when the carrier asked it to deny Alaska Airlines’ request to delay its Los Angeles-Havana service until January and substitute a JetBlue Boston route instead.

In February, JetBlue said it would fly smaller aircraft on its routes to four Cuban destinations starting May 3.

“We ... will continue to adjust as needed to ensure sustainable performance,” it said in a statement. “With these adjustments, Havana is performing well against our expectations, and we are seeing strength in our groups business.”