JetBlue Airbus A321 8-Hour Flight From Paris To New York Turns Into 3-Day Oddysey After Repeat Technical Fault (2024)

A JetBlue Airbus A321LR, a derivative of the A321neo, was forced to divert twice as it attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Paris, France, to New York, the United States on July 11 and July 12. The aircraft finally left Europe on July 14.

Initial turnback

Flightradar24 data showed that the aircraft, registered as N4076J, was operating flight B61908 from Paris Charles De Gaulle International Airport (CDG) to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on July 11.

As it began crossing the Atlantic Ocean, overflying Ireland to the west, the aircraft began turning back to CDG. After having departed the French capital at 14:05 local time (UTC +2), the aircraft landed back at CDG at 17:25.

Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock

One of the passengers onboard the flight, Laurie Kilmartin, tweeted her experience on X, formerly known as Twitter. Kilmartin initially said that the JetBlue aircraft turned around due to the failure of the aircraft fuel quantity indicator, resulting in the pilots not knowing how much fuel was left.

Simple Flying has approached JetBlue for comment to confirm whether a technical fault was the reason for the A321LR’s initial turnback to CDG. After having returned to Paris, the aircraft was scheduled to fly out of the airport on July 12.

Second diversion

However, as the aircraft departed on its second attempt from CDG to JFK on JetBlue flight B68108 on July 12, which was a special code that JetBlue has only used twice during the past three months, including another CDG to JFK itinerary, it diverted once again, this time to Dublin Airport (DUB).

Photo:Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock

In a follow-up tweet, Kilmartin, using obscene language, described that the flight was turning around again due to the same technical issue. After departing CDG at 16:17 on July 12, the JetBlue A321LR landed at DUB at 19:02 local time (UTC +1), taxiing to the gate area at the Irish airport.

On July 14, the aircraft left DUB for JFK, departing the Irish capital at 8:29. At the time of writing, the aircraft has begun crossing the Atlantic Ocean, with an estimated arrival time at JFK of 9:54 local time (UTC -4).

Almost one-year-old A321LR

Ch-aviation data showed that Airbus delivered the A321LR to JetBlue on September 28, 2023, with the aircraft departing on its first flight several days earlier, namely September 12, 2023, making the aircraft just shy of being one-year-old.

According to data from Airbus, which ch-aviation cited, and the site’s own estimates, the aircraft had accumulated 2,911 flight hours (FH) and 428 flight cycles (FC) as of June, with the aircraft completing only one FC in September 2023.

Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock

In total, JetBlue operates 11 A321LR aircraft, with nine additional aircraft of the type being scheduled for delivery, in addition to the 25 A321neo (eight inactive) the airline has in its fleet. Ch-aviation data also showed that Airbus is scheduled to deliver 27 more A321neos to the US-based carrier.