JetBlue: After the Valentine's Day Fiasco (Updated 2/07)
Written: Jul 09 '02 (Updated Apr 07 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: pricing that makes sense, great entertainment system, excellent staff, comfortable aircraft
Cons: boarding is usually backed up in the jetway
The Bottom Line: Even after the Valentine's Day "fiasco", the airline remains adamant on providing excellent customer service.
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| jetbluefan1's Full Review: JetBlue Airways |
JetBlue Airways is one of the most successful airline start-ups in the history of the industry, if not the most successful. JetBlue Airways was one of the two airlines in the US to make a profit immediately after the unfortunate September 11th terrorist attacks. JetBlue was the first airline to install seat-back TV's in every seat in the US, and JetBlue was the first airline that actually made it fun to fly...
JetBlue is a low-cost carrier that offers a superior product and operates nearly 100 planes. While JetBlue doesn't have the largest route network, they are constantly growing, and you can log onto jetblue.com for proof. Currently, JetBlue serves a decent number of destinations for a 5-year old airline, including New York City (JFK, LaGuardia and Newark), Boston, Washington DC (Dulles), Fort Lauderdale, LA/Long Beach, Oakland/San Francisco, Las Vegas, and even Puerto Rico along with the Dominican Republic. Log onto jetblue.com to see all of the destinations they serve.
Here's a review of one of my many flights on JetBlue Airways:
Booking
So Spring Break time came around, and my wife and I decided it would be fun to take a relaxing vacation in San Diego. We booked our tickets on jetblue.com for $290 a head, which is much better than something that you could find two or three years ago. The booking process was easy, and we were sent a confirmation e-mail immediately.
You should know that JetBlue does not issue tickets - that's so five years ago. All you have to do is give the ticketing agent your last name.
Check-In
JetBlue operates out of Terminal 6 at JFK - they use all 11 gates in the terminal. While it's not the most luxurious terminal in the airport, it's small and easy to use. You can walk from one side to the other in three minutes. There are various shops and restaurants you can check out too.
We waited in line for two, three minutes tops to check-in. It was this quick because there were nearly 20 counters open. The agent was very friendly, efficient, and even humorous. When I asked to borrow his pen, he replied, "You better not be one of those pen steelers! I know your type." This was all in good humor, and shows how laid-back the experience is, while still being professional.
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On the return flight, there was no line at all, but there were two agents working the counter. Both were friendly, while not being too friendly, and while one got us checked in, the other helped her out and get our luggage ticketed. This made the process quicker, and I was happy to see that the agents were working together to make each other's jobs easier.
Make sure to check out JetBlue's check-in kiosks. You can check-in there and confirm your seat without having to stand in line, and there's always a JetBlue employee there to help just in case there's a problem. You can do this regardless if you're traveling with a carry-on or checked luggage. If you have checked luggage, you simply give your luggage to a JetBlue employee at the counter and they'll take care of it for you.
Boarding
This was quite funny. We arrived at gate 16 to see the word "San Diago" written on the screen. The agent at the gate hadn't realized that she had made a mistake when spelling the name of the city, but she eventually was corrected by another passenger waiting in the area.
The boarding process was not done over the P.A system; the people working the flight just went up and down the rows of seats to let us know what rows were boarding. I found this to be a bit old fashion, but it does give the whole experience some sense of class and originality.
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Boarding at San Diego was a bit different. The P.A system was used, and there were about four agents doing the boarding calls instead of two, like at JFK. By accident, they boarded the plane too fast, and the whole jetway got backed up with passengers. Since we were in row 3, we were last to board, and that meant that we had to wait for the jetway to clear. The agents offered many apologies and thanked us for our patience and understanding.
In-Flight Crew
On the outbound flight from JFK, we had two female flight attendants and two male flight attendants. The two females liked to talk to each other a lot, but they weren't overly friendly with the passengers. I did see them smile a couple of times, and they did their job professionally and efficiently.
The two male flight attendants, on the other hand, were exceptional. One of them was very funny, and he made the whole cabin laugh during the "safety instructions" part of the flight. The other male flight attendant was constantly smiling (I thought his face would fall off by the end of the flight...), and he was very kind. He gave all the passengers many snacks and was constantly going up and down the aisles to collect trash and take care of the passengers.
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On the returning flight, we had three females and one male. One of them was new, as she stumbled to read the safety instructions from the card, and she seemed a bit over enthusiastic to make sure the plane stayed clean. Another flight attendant looked like Martha Stewart. She seemed a bit stuck-up, but she seemed to be very proud that she was working for JetBlue. She was very friendly with all the passengers and did her job well.
The other two flight attendants, who were in the back of the plane, hardly made appearances near my row. However, when I did walk to the back of the plane to ask for an extra snack (they ran out of chips up front), the male flight attendant offered me more snacks than I asked for. This has happened on several occasions with JetBlue.
*I have noticed that the majority of JetBlue in-flight Crew members are young and good looking. Because I've flown JetBlue many times, I can safely say that you'll get at least one flight attendant under the age of 30 per flight.*
Chow
JetBlue, like almost every other carrier in the US, does not offer meals. Instead, they offer snacks, and you can have as many as you'd like (you're actually encouraged to make a "meal" out of 2 or 3 snacks). They have blue potato chips called "Terra Blues," Animal Crackers, roasted almonds, Doritos Munchie Mix, chocolate chip biscotti, and chocolate chip cookies. They also offer complimentary beverages, and you're always given the whole can.
Plane
JetBlue flies brand-new, state-of-the-art Airbus A-320 aircraft that I've always found to be clean. These are the quietest, safest planes in the world. I have never heard of incidents with this type of aircraft, as they are very expensive for airlines to purchase. They go through vigorous testing courses before being sent to the airline.
The seats inside the aircraft are all covered in gray leather. This offers some additional cushioning, which makes the seat seem wider and more comfortable. The legroom is very good at JetBlue, and is (statistically) more than any other carrier in the U.S. Rows 2-10 have 32" of pitch (which is good), while all the other rows have 34" of pitch (which is excellent). I've sat in both pitch categories, and I'll tell you that my legs have never touched the seat in front of me. Just keep in mind that I'm 5'8". However, I doubt that the legroom would be a problem for others...unless you're a giant...
The most popular part of JetBlue's flying experience is their In-Flight TV service. JetBlue offers 36 channels of LiveTv, along with 4 Pay-Per-View channels, and starting in mid-2005, 100 channels of XM radio. Their LiveTV channels include MTV, ESPN, Nickelodeon, TV Land, NBC, HGTV, History, Discovery, Animal Planet, VH1, CNN, and more. There's at least one channel to satisfy everyone's interest. Kids love JetBlue because they can watch Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Discovery Channel Kids. Keep this in mind when you're planning for your trip to Disney, or to see grandma and grandpa in Fort Myers or Boca.
Update - 2/07
I flew JetBlue on 2/19 to Fort Lauderdale and returned on the morning of 2/23. Both flights ran very smoothly - both were on-time, and the flight crew was extremely courteous. I also found that the lines at the JetBlue counters were rather short and well-manned despite the extremely busy travel week of President's Day Week. I have to say that this was the best experience I have ever had on JetBlue, and I'll continue to patronize the company as a result.
After the Valentine's Day Fiasco, JetBlue had a lot of bad press concerning its many cancellations and its stranding of passengers on the tarmac at JFK. While this is completely unacceptable, I admire the way that the CEO has come out and outright taken the blame as well as his creation of the "passenger bill of rights." Quite honestly, corporate America is so caught up in profits and ego mania that I would never have expected such a response from a publicly traded company. Nevertheless, I admire the JetBlue CEO for his remarks and his desire to improve the airline after the meltdown.
Hey, tell a friend about my review! Send them this link so they can read it instead of hogging their inbox with all this text. This is the link: http://www.epinions.com/content_69479927428
jetBlutique Online Store
jetBlue Online Booking review
jetBlue TrueBlue review - jetBlue's frequent flier program in which you can earn free travel (now available through AmEx)
Remember that JetBlue flies into Orlando
www.jetblue.com
1.800.JetBlue (1.800.538.2583)
Recommended:
Yes
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