JetBlue has dropped service to these cities after deals with US carrier Spirit

JetBlue Airways will end service to several cities and reduce flights from Los Angeles in a move to trim costs and focus on stronger markets after years of losing money.

The changes will also help the airline deal with the grounding of some of its planes for checks on its Pratt & Whitney engines, an executive told employees on Tuesday.

Starting June 13, JetBlue will withdraw from Kansas City, Missouri; Bogotá, Colombia; Quito, Ecuador; Lima, Peru.

“These markets are unprofitable and our aircraft time could be better used elsewhere,” Dave Ginn, the airline's vice president of network planning, said in a memo to employees.

Also in June, the New York-based airline will drop several destinations from Los Angeles including Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami. It will end flights between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Atlanta. Austin, Texas; nashville; New Orleans and Salt Lake City, and service between New York and Detroit.

JetBlue has lost more than $2 billion since its last profitable year, 2019. The airline tried to grow through partnerships and mergers, but the Biden administration's Justice Department sued to nullify both deals.

Last May, a federal judge ordered JetBlue and American Airlines to dissolve the partnership they established in Boston and New York. In January, another judge blocked JetBlue from buying Spirit, saying the proposed $3.8 billion deal violated antitrust law.

The architect of those failed deals, Robin Hayes, stepped down as CEO in February and was replaced by Joanna Geraghty.

Frustrated by courtroom defeats, JetBlue under Geraghty is moving toward growth on its own, which will take much longer.

Even before the change of CEOs, investor Carl Icahn began buying nearly 10% of JetBlue's stock, and his team gained two seats on the airline's board.

The airline has struggled to improve its operation. JetBlue Ninth place Among the nation's top 10 airlines in both canceled flights and on-time arrivals last year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation figures.