JetBlue to begin Nantucket service

JetBlue is coming to Nantucket.

JetBlue Airways Corp. will begin offering daily flights between New York and Nantucket from May 24 to Sept. 24, chief executive David Neeleman said today, plus extra weekend flights from late June to early September.

New York-based JetBlue has also forged partnerships with Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines. JetBlue will sell flights on those airlines for passengers connecting through Logan International Airport in Boston to the Cape and Islands. Travelers will be able to use JetBlue's website to book flights on on the smaller airlines as part of their JetBlue tickets.

JetBlue tickets to Nantucket from John F. Kennedy International Airport will cost $178 to $558 round-trip, with some promotional fares as low as $98.

The flights, on 100-seat Embraer 190 regional jets, will leave JFK daily at 5:30 p.m., arriving on the island at 6:55 p.m. Flights will leave daily from Nantucket at 7:30 p.m.

In addition, JetBlue will offer a New York-to-Nantucket flight at 9:30 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. Saturdays, and flights from Nantucket to New York leaving at 10:55 a.m. Saturday and 6:50 a.m. Mondays, from late June through early September.

The Nantucket Chamber of Commerce's executive director, Tracy Bakalar, estimated that a third of the island's summer visitors come from New York.

The deal with Cape Air, which starts March 19, will let people book flights at JetBlue.com that connect to via Logan to Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Provincetown.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)