One of JetBlue's Airbus A320s no longer wears JetBlue blue. The airline and the Florida Panthers unveiled a special-edition livery on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, a jet painted in the team's red with Panthers logos, team history and the word FLORIDA spelled across its belly. The plane is named Go Cats Go, and it took its first flight out of Florida the same day.

What is on the plane

The design is drawn from the Panthers jersey. According to JetBlue, the body of the aircraft is Panthers red, and the panther, the state animal and the team's namesake, stands beside the JetBlue logo on the side. The tail carries the Panthers shield logo in navy and gold.

The underside is where the jersey idea shows most. Red letters spell out FLORIDA against a white belly, a nod to the white stripe across the team's uniform, so the plane can be picked out from the ground on approach. The team's leaping cat logo is on the underside as well.

Smaller details are spread across the fuselage. Near the front is the simplified Florida flag the Panthers wear on the shoulders of their jerseys, and a palm tree and hockey stick reference the team's historic secondary logo.

Who was there

The reveal at FLL brought out Bill Zito, the Panthers' president of hockey operations and general manager, along with captain Aleksander Barkov and forward Brad Marchand, plus local officials and community partners. After the unveiling, the celebration moved inside the terminal, where the team's mascots, Stanley C. Panther and Viktor E. Ratt, greeted travelers booked on the plane's first flight. JetBlue handed out giveaways to customers on board.

JetBlue president Marty St. George tied the design to the airline's roots in the region, noting that South Florida has been part of the carrier's story since its first flight. Zito described the plane as a way to welcome fans, locals and visitors onto an aircraft that is plainly from here.

Why Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale was JetBlue's first destination when the airline started flying in 2000. More than 25 years later, JetBlue is the largest carrier at FLL and describes itself as Broward County's largest airline. This winter it is scheduling more than 150 peak daily departures from the airport to more than 60 nonstop destinations.

The plane is the most visible piece of a partnership that has grown on the ground, too. At Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, JetBlue is the presenting partner of the reimagined Champions Club and of JetBlue Landing, an area built around fan events and experiences. Away from the arena, the two run the Panthers' Reading Challenge, which encourages thousands of Broward County Public Schools students to read and rewards winning schools with books, celebrations and Panthers experiences.

The team behind the paint

The Panthers won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons, 2023-24 and 2024-25, and are in their 33rd season in 2026-27. The club runs four facilities in Broward County: Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, the Baptist Health IcePlex practice facility in Fort Lauderdale and the renovated War Memorial Auditorium, which hosts concerts and events.

How to see it

JetBlue has not published a fixed route for the plane, so there is no way to book it on purpose. Spotters at FLL, where JetBlue runs more than 150 peak daily departures this winter, can look for the red body and, from below, the white belly with FLORIDA across it. For flights and fares, JetBlue's schedule is at jetblue.com.

Sources