The Best Airline Out There
Written: Feb 16 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Early arrivals, great food, TV!
Cons: Needs more cities
The Bottom Line: Absolutely the best airline around--fly it if it's in the cities you need to travel to!
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| marinamartin's Full Review: JetBlue Airways |
I’m a veteran flier and have had my share of bad experiences with most every airline. When living in Salt Lake City and commuting regularly to Los Angeles, a friend mentioned a new airline called JetBlue that was supposed to be more affordable than others. I decided to give it a shot, and have since flown at least 25 times, and intend to fly JetBlue as often as possible.
You can only purchase JetBlue flights on its web site, and it does not come up on any comparison shopping web sites like Expedia.com or Travelocity.com. Purchasing through the web site, instead of calling on the phone, is rewarded with $5 off each way.
JetBlue technically only sells one-way fares, which is a fantastic plus over other airlines, which tend to charge more (go figure) for any one-way destinations. The web site is extremely easy to use, and lists the first leg of the flight on the top of the screen (and all available times that day), followed by the second leg of the flight on the bottom. You can hit “Back” or “Next” to change either date to check for cheaper flights or better times. Prices are specific each way, and not combined round-trip. This makes comparison shopping for flight legs a breeze.
I rarely see a non-JetBlue flight come even close to being as cheap as JetBlue. Even two days before Christmas Eve, if I had really wanted to I could have flown from Los Angeles to New York for under $400. They also fly many night flights, which is far more convenient for me than rising at 4AM for a flight.
If you need to change a flight reservation, the change fee is only ***$25***! After essentially flushing $2000 down the toilet in change fees and forfeited tickets to United Airlines the year before, this alone would make me a loyal JetBlue patron. Customer service has always been remarkably pleasant and helpful.
Unlike normally crazy terminals, every JetBlue counter I have been to has not had a long line (any time, day or night) and has had more employees available than Delta and United combined. Once, I arrived at JFK a mere ten minutes before my flight was supposed to take off (normally boarding begins 30 minutes before—forget about security, etc!). They have an entire terminal in New York City, and when I mentioned in passing to one of the guards that my flight was about to leave, I was personally rushed through and even had time to stop and buy a drink before boarding!
I’m a small woman, and the seats are extremely large and comfortable. Each seat has DirecTV service with 24 channels, including:
A&E
Animal Planet
Boomerang
CNBC
CourtTV
Discovery Channel
Discovery Kids
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPN Classic
ESPN News
Food Network
Game Show Network
CNN Headline News
History Channel
HGTV
MSNBC
Nickelodeon/Nick-At-Nite
Telemundo
The Learning Channel
Travel Channel
TV Land
VH1 Classic
Weather Channel
WNBC
Free headphones are provided as you’re boarding to listen to DirecTV or the radio. Beverage service begins right after departure, with all the soda and alcoholic beverage you could want. The snack service is superior to all other airlines, with biscotti, Terra Blue chips, animal crackers, chocolate chip cookies, and more. They aren’t stingy and I’ve seen people request many snacks throughout the flight. There is also a round of peanuts!
There are no meals served on JetBlue, which is how they cut down on costs (significantly!). However, between the snacks and the drinks and the peanuts, a meal is not all that necessary.
The big downside for me has been living in Los Angeles. The only airport JetBlue flies into is Long Beach, which, in Los Angeles traffic, is quite a hike. Asking a friend for a ride to the airport is the same as asking them to sit in traffic for upwards of SIX hours. However, living in Salt Lake, it was amazingly convenient to go to any other JetBlue location.
Currently, JetBlue flies to these cities:
Boston, MA
Buffalo, NY
Burlington, VT
Denver, CO
Ft Lauderdale, FL
Ft Myers, FL
Las Vegas, NV
Long Beach, CA
New Orleans, LA
New York City
Oakland, CA
Ontario, CA
Orlando, FL
Rochester, NY
Sacramento, CA
Salt Lake City
San Diego, CA
San Juan, PR
Seattle, WA
Syracuse, NY
Tampa, FL
Washington, DC/Dulles
West Palm Beach, FL
In all my flying on JetBlue, I have never experienced a delayed flight or lost luggage. In fact, my JetBlue flights have almost always been early! Imagine, an early flight!
http://www.jetblue.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
marinamartin
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Member: Marina Martin
Location: Los Angeles, CA USA
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
An efficiency / business consultant and public relations specialist in Los Angeles, CA.
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