First JetBlue flight to Charleston greeted with a rainbow

A rainbow and water greeted the first JetBlue Airways flight to Charleston today under a cloudless sky and no rain.

As the inaugural flight taxied to the gate after touching down on the runway at 9:39 a.m., opposing fire trucks created a tunnel of water to welcome the New York-based airline to Charleston. A rainbow then appeared in the spray as the sun splashed down on the blue and white aircraft.

“Coming to Charleston after one of the wettest months in history and with no clouds in the sky, they still pulled off a rainbow,” said Andy Savage, chairman of Charleston County Aviation Authority.

Airport and community leaders welcomed JetBlue to Charleston today in a high-energy celebration that included the chief operating officer of JetBlue.

“The reception is unlike anything we have seen at JetBlue,” JetBlue COO Rob Maruster said. “Good things come to those who wait.”

He was referring to the nearly three-year local effort to land the low-cost carrier in Charleston and the fact that the Holy City was on the original list of cities to be served in the late 1990s when JetBlue was conceived.

“We think this is an underserved market,” he said.

The low-cost carrier brings three flights daily, starting today, with two to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and one to Boston’s Logan International Airport.

JetBlue will begin offering a fourth flight from Charleston to Boston on Saturdays only starting April 6.

Read more in tomorrow’s editions of The Post and Courier.

Reach Warren L. Wise at 937-5524 or twitter.com/warrenlancewise.