Jet Blue is opening it's second 'base' in Long Beach. Living in South Florida and having relatives in S. California, this might just get me to visit them some more.
http://www.jetblue.com/LearnMore/pre....asp?newsId=66

Wow, great news! Long Beach deserves a steady 3rd option besides AA and HP. If they do start service to OAK and LAS, it could affect UA and AA's west coast flights.

Please also see:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/005121.html

Indurain, I have never flown out of Longbeach. How is it compared to SNA and LAX. I found SNA fairly convenient for parking/rentals, getting into and out of airport, etc. except for the network/schedules. LAX has great schedules but painful crowding and terminal switches. Longbeach might just be a good alternative.

Any pointers to discussions by actual flyers (especially FTers) regarding Longbeach option would be great!

I am also excited to see JetBlue's growth. This should keep the pressure on other airlines from taking customers for granted. Few dominant airlines also increase expectations for union staff and mgmt. JetBlue seems to offer comfortable seating and yet tackle longhaul which was SouthWest's weakness.

I have read a lot to respect David Neeleman. This is a brillian strategic move. A secondary hub in westcoast is a switch in their stated strategy but a welcome one. Let us see how this goes!

After reading the various newsreports, I understand that Longbeach only has 41 daily departures and has awarded the entire balance of 27 to JetBlue. I read this to mean no one else can get into that airport. Am I right? I see that as good and bad.

clouds2cloud, The Long Beach Airport is a step back in time, the way BUR was thirty-five years ago. LGB is still very much like a hometown airport. I feel it is unique! I much prefer it to LAX, SNA, BUR or ONT. It is (405, 605, and 91) freeway accessible, the parking is economical and almost too convenient. Just seconds from the parking lot to the gate. Its cocktail lounge and restaurant upstairs are from an era of days gone by, along with the nearby Observation Deck.

I wish LGB had more flights that met my scheduling needs. I would sure use it more often.

Long Beach Airport
http://www.ci.long-beach.ca.us/lgb/

[This message has been edited by MRLIMO (edited 05-26-2001).]

This is a wonderful airport. Go upstairs and the restaurant overlooks the entire airport.If youpass the gift shop there is all this entire history with pictures of all the planes build there for World War II. On takeoff at the other end of the field you can see the 717 being prepared for delivery. The rental cars and parking are so easy as they are all walking distance. The Freeway 405 to Los Angeles or San Diego is less than a mile from the Airport. For lodging the Long Beach Marrioot is very nice.

LGB used to be my airport of choice when flying to the Southern half of the LA area from Tucson, HP's operational deficiency has caused the change. Too many 3 hour waits for the next plane after the cancellation.

It's a great little airport, shortest plane to the car distance in the civilized world.

As Jet Blue grows, I trust management will study the People Express model and avoid the overexpansion that led to PE's demise.

Thanks to everyone for the great comments on LGB. I am definitely going to fly there as soon as JetBlue gets started (I have not flown Jet Blue so far, but want to try them out).

On the business front, I do understand that it has one of the best management teams headed by David Neeleman. I have read a lot about how LUV was concerned about competing with him that his non-compete forced him to be operating out of Canada for 5 years (and was quite successful at that one as well). He is all over the biz press (just one source here).
http://www.thestreet.com/comment/wingtips/1274387.html http://www.thestreet.com/comment/wingtips/764487.html

I do not think JetBlue is going the PE way!

Here's another JetBlue link...how they handle "customer relations".... http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/559619.asp

After you read this story, remind yourself how the majors play "gottcha" with you every day...

• "Sorry, but we can't give you the upgrade, even though our FC cabin is near empty, because your fare code doesn't qualify."
• "We'll be happy to change your flight to one an hour later...for a $100 change fee!
• "Well, of course we would have been glad to put you in a hotel due to the flight cancellation, but this was a weather delay, and not a mechanical delay. But please feel free to avail yourself of the seats in the gate area!"
• "I know the fare was $275 yesterday. But that was yesterday! Today it is $875...would you prefer a window or aisle seat, sir?"
• "I realize we've been on the tarmac for 4 1/2 hours. But the flight is still considered on-time because we pulled away from the jetway within 15 minutes of scheduled take-off. So you aren't due any compensation for the delay, sir!"
• "Sorry, sir! There aren't any reward seats (reward upgrades) during that month. Would you be willing to fly our redeye on December 25?"

Now, compare your experiences to those of the JetBlue passengers in the story! And everyone wonders why JetBlue is doing so well???

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In Economy...no one can hear you scream!