2025 Flight Recap: How Our Airline Mix Changed This Year

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2025 was an eventful year for us — and it’s the kind of year where the travel numbers don’t tell the full story without a little context. In 2024, we had intentionally kept our plans limited while my father was dealing with cancer.

After he passed away in January, we took some time to process everything. Around that same time, our dog crossed the rainbow bridge. As difficult as those months were, they also changed what was possible for us the rest of the year. Once we were ready, we started traveling more again, and my wife Sharon took things to another level in the fall by completing JetBlue’s 25 for 25 promotion, which (as you’d expect) had a pretty dramatic impact on our flight totals.

Sharon’s Flights

Sharon flew a total of 59 flight segments in 2025. Her travel map was far more extensive this year — thanks in no small part to completing JetBlue’s 25 for 25 promotion.

She flew 52,260 miles for the year. Her longest flight was on Virgin Atlantic, from London Heathrow (LHR) to Orlando (MCO) — 4,336 miles. Her shortest flight was on American Airlines, from Orlando (MCO) to Miami (MIA) — 192 miles.

Here’s how her flights broke down by airline:

• JetBlue: 37 segments
• Southwest: 8 segments
• American: 4 segments
• United: 4 segments
• Breeze Airways: 2 segments
• Spirit: 2 segments
• Delta: 1 segment
• Virgin Atlantic: 1 segment

Notable Flights

Some of Sharon’s most memorable flights this year weren’t necessarily the longest ones. She got to review a Breeze flight to Lancaster, and we also flew home from London in Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy — a nice upgrade from the usual “get me home” mindset.

Joe’s Flights

I flew a total of 20 flight segments in 2025. While Sharon’s map did most of its heavy lifting thanks to JetBlue’s 25 for 25, my travel was a mix of the usual Florida-based routes plus a couple of longer trips.

I flew 24,394 miles for the year. My longest flight was from London Heathrow (LHR) to Orlando (MCO) — 4,336 miles — and my shortest was from Orlando (MCO) to Miami (MIA) — 192 miles.

Here’s how my flights broke down by airline:

• JetBlue: 5 segments
• Southwest: 5 segments
• American: 3 segments
• Spirit: 3 segments
• United: 2 segments
• Frontier: 1 segment
• Virgin Atlantic: 1 segment

Airline Breakdown

Looking at our airline mix for 2025, a lot of it came down to timing and practicality. Routes, schedules, and pricing always drive our decisions, but this year we also had one extra factor that nudged our choices more than usual.

Southwest

We flew Southwest more often in 2025 largely because I earned a Companion Pass from a credit card signup early in the year. That perk completely changes the math on a trip — and once you’ve got it, you start seeing Southwest as the obvious choice on routes where you might otherwise default to another airline.

JetBlue

JetBlue also played a significant role in our totals, primarily because of Sharon completing 25 for 25. When you’re building trips around a promotion, it naturally shifts which flights you book — and it also means we used JetBlue on some trips where we may have otherwise flown a different airline (Note from Sharon: or, in one case, airport. We didn’t HAVE to fly to EWR from TPA – we live closest to MCO and there are plenty of flights between the two. But flying from/to TPA gave me another claim on my “dance card“.).

Where Was Delta?

One notable absence from my list this year was Delta. There was no grand plan to avoid them — it just didn’t work out. Between JetBlue’s 25 for 25 and Southwest’s Companion Pass, a few trips we might usually take on Delta went in a different direction.

Spirit (and a Small Soft Spot)

I also ended up with three Spirit flights, which is a little unexpected, given my usual airline habits. The truth is, I was starting to like Spirit — not as a “pick them every time” airline, but as a solid option when the schedule and price made sense. With everything Spirit has going on right now, I’m hoping they find a way to make it through their current difficulties.

Virgin Atlantic

Finally, our long-haul highlight of the year was Virgin Atlantic, flying home from London in Premium Economy. It’s not every trip where the “get me home” flight becomes something you actually enjoy — but this one did.

Final Thoughts

Looking back, 2025 was a reminder that our airline mix is usually driven by the basics: routing, schedules, and timing. Add in JetBlue’s 25 for 25 and the value of a Southwest Companion Pass, and our year ended up looking very different from how it usually would.

And 2026 is already shaping up to look different again. We’ve got some new cities (and even a few new airlines) on the calendar, along with return trips back to New York and Texas. But we’re also looking forward to getting another dog, which will definitely change how (and how often) we travel once again.

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper – copyright © Karl L. Swartz.

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