As it turns out I was able to take JetBlue's inaugural flight out of DCA which was B6680 a 10:00 A.M. service to BOS on a brand new E190. My trip report and observations follow:
Web Checkin #fail
I was not abel to check in on the
http://mobile.jetblue.com
site receiving a general nonspecific error saying I would have to check in with a B6 airport representative. I called general reservations, and of course, they had no idea why this happened but they indicated that the mobile web site was prone to such issues.
I also was unable to checkin at the main flash based
http://checkin.jetblue.com
due to accessibility reasons. I don't know in general if the flash UI would have worked apart from the accessibility issues.
However, the silver lining was that this was a 10:00 A.M. flight, and I was not rushed. This is not typical though, and its very important for me to be able to use web or mobile phone checkin in general.
Ticket Counter Experience:
The Hyatt Crystal City shuttle dropped me off at DCA at Terminal A. Apparently this terminal is somehow disconnected from the main DCA terminal building. At some point, I thought B6 might be operating out of the CO gate area, but this appears to be a different building than the mmajor parts of DCA.
I was told if one takes the metro to DCA that you must take a shuttle bus or that you can walk to the A terminal.
The ticket counter agent was pleasant and knew what she was doing. Soon I had a boarding pass for my confirmed 11B aisle seat.
Gate Experience:
The security checkpoint is located on the same level as the JetBlue ticket counter, and serves gates 1 to 9. As noted earlier, B6 operates out of gate 2 (on your right hand side) and gate 9 (on your left hand side) as you go down the hallway from security. In other words, these gates are roughly across from each other. There is a Euro Cafe where I got coffee and some breakfast in the middle of the hallway.
This concourse also serves AirTran Airways, Spirit, Air Canada, and a few other airlines. I noticed AirTran operations including an oversold flight I wish I had been on so I could volunteer. Thats one JetBlue ding, apparently they don't overbook, and I love overbooking!
The station currently has about 30 employees, and there was a lot of excitement in the gate area. Many other employees were on hand for the station opening and inaugural flight.
There were brief presentations by @jetbluecoo
http://twitter.com/jetbluecoo
as well as representatives from DCA. They spoke about how this particular terminal facility had been rennovated for the B6 opening. Rob also announced that B6680 would be on a brand new E190 I think ship#324? He also said there would be give aways and buzz on the flight.
The airport crew and participants were all excited about the B6 launch, and seemed happy. I spoke for a good bit to an airport B6 agent who had transferred from IAD, and was excited and long awating the new DCA service. I also met an airport trainer who had come in for the festivities.
After the remarks there was a ribbon cutting, and boarding soon began.
In Flight Experience, Water Cannon, Seat Bingo, SWAG:
It was neat being on the brand new aircraft. There was a paper shopping bag on each seat that said Boston, and had some SWAG for inaugural passengers. The SWAG included in order of usefullness or coolness:
*Sun screen with a key chain attached to it;
*Some sort of poster with a painting of a plane that likely has symbolism or cache for JetBlue;
*A luggage handle;
*An inflatable beach ball;
*A BOS tour book;
*An FLL tour book.
(I'm just checking again but thats it)
Not the best but not the worst.
I had hoped to get something like a B6 sweatshirt or jacket which I read were being given out as part of AYCJ. I can't think of anything maybe besides the plane painting I might keep. The sun screen was travel size and practical. Would have been nice to get some drink coupons or say 20% promo codes or like a bottle opener keychain.
They also distributed the $2 headsets for $2, I think they could have given those away on an inaugural.
Shortly after push back we received a water cannon salute. Rob also made an announcement that people could seek him and other leaders out to discuss JetBlue or items needing improvement.
After the drink service another JetBlue VP, Doug I want to say, ran a Seat bingo game where essentially they called out seat numbers that were drawn and the pax received free tickets. They gave away 3-4 free tickets. The in flight service was efficient and included bottled water, orange juice, D&D coffee, blue chips, and chocolate chip cookies.
The captain also made a humorous announcement that unlike Rob he didn't have any free tickets to give away.
The person sitting next to me said they did not realize this would be an inaugural flight, and asked me how I knew that on inaugural flights it was typical to receive the water cannon salute?
I want to say there were about 90 or so on board and of course the E190 holds 100 people.
The tv and IFE worked well as expected but of course no WiFi. Also not too much on tv at 10:00 A.M. but I have to say it would be neat to say watch things like the today show, live nightly news, or a breaking story live on the tvs. Other than that WiFi is significantly more important to me. I really don't care about sports that much, but I could see if you do this would be a real bonus eg the Sunday NFL ticket that B6 offers.
The landing at BOS went well, I do like how the cockpit crew makes an announcement just as the a/c has been cleared to land. B6 I think is also above average at announcing the arrival gate and baggage claim number.
I met @jetbluecoo in the jetway and got his card, as I do have some ideas on improvements they could make. He was in the midst of I think being interviewed and quite busy so I didn't want to get in to any ideas right at that time but I will email him and he was personable and seemed to genuinely want to listen to my ideas.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the 7 daily B6 departures on the BOS to DCA route will rationalize and stabalize the high fares charged in recent times by US Airways. Also the B6 experience with airport agents and in flight crews I think is above average when compared to a legacy carrier for a non elite flyer. The plentiful free snacks, free tv and radio at every seat, changing tables, etc. would seem to really create a niche for a segment of the traveling market. The experience beats an RJ on a legacy carrier commuter any day, eg on this route AA, DL. For most, parts of the experience will also be better than the US Airways shuttle which serves the route with mainline Airbuses. The real niche I imagine would be families and people who perhaps don't fly enough to get elite status. That is a huge market! Remember most people don't even fly 25,000 miles or 30 segments annually, or even near that!
For the real road warrier or near road warrier, there are significant drawbacks, however, to the JetBlue experience. They are listed in order of importance:
Lousy Change and Same Day Change Provisions:
Even US Airways treats its lowely Silver preferred members better when it comes to same day changes. JetBlue only allows a pax to standby for free on an adjacent flight, either the next earlier or later (I forget which one) flight? Otherwise they charge a $40 same day confirmed change fee. They also have a legacy carrier like draconian $100 standard change fee, and language that if you miss your flight you will forfit the funds, I suppose technically even if you don't call them beforehand on the same day.
I am constantly back and forth from DC to Boston, and these rigid change provisions are unacceptable! As I said even US Airways generally allows same day free standby for even silver preferred members. I am often having to change the date or time of my flight often at the airport.
Southwest is also very compelling in this regard with no change or cancellation fees or hassles. If I accidentally miss my Southwest flight they've never given me a hard time about either confirming or going standby later on. I have not really tried to get on an earlier WN same day flight other than in a weather irrops situation when of course they did not charge me. I routinely cancel and change trips, and WN and its robust web site win hands down in this regard for flexibility!
Just the other day I thought i had a meeting say Dec 6 near DCA but it is actually Dec 11. Changing the dates entirely on Southwest's web site was a pleasure, and of course there were no change fees! As it turned out the fare was the same, and so I didn't have to pay any extra and the process was quick and painless on Southwest! I understand shortly WN will begin showing no change fee adds just like there no bag fee adds.
JetBlue Web Site
As noted earlier, not the best site, heavy use of flash, hard to use, not very robust. Random errors like I got with web check in. No cell phone boarding passes.
JetBlue True Blue
Don't like the dollars based program. Seems like you would have to spend more to get an award. No really innovative awards or benefits such as being able to redeem eg on a legacy for 3 cabin international first class, the Southwest Companion pass, etc. No elite program, and apparently fees (unlike WN) if you need to change/cancel an award. Sorry I'm not inclined to pay $100 change fees on awards or revenue tickets, thank you very much.
Rule 120.20 FIM
I am not sure if B6 has a rule 120.20 agreement to move pax to other airlines. WN has no such agreement. This is where being a legacy elite can shine. Even FL can FIM to US and UA. FL once gave me a FIM to US to fly to DCA when I had an issue with my FL BWI flight.
WiFi
Already mentioned. I don't see what JetBlue is holding out for waiting for this new provider. WN and @gogoinflight have good offerings and programs and real products available now. But some might rate the free tv as more important than WiFi.
This might sound negative, but it just could be that JetBlue is really not after the high frequency traveler who travels say 50 to 100 segments a year. They might be focussed on people that take 1 to 5 trips a year, and those customers might be thrilled with the JetBlue experience!
If you take your 2.5 or 3.5 trips a year you likely don't care about things like rule 120.20, change fees, standby, rewards programs, international 3 cabin first class awards, etc. For such "basic" travel, JetBlue might just fit the bill!
If for instance my mother or father were traveling to Florida I would not hesitate to recommend JetBlue. They aren't going to get elite treatment on a legacy, and they'll like the assigned seats, tvs, and snacks. While WN is better for changes, they likely won't change their classic trip to Florida. They don't have WiFi devices, and the odds are really in their favor on B6 the agents and crews will be pleasant. They dont' care about the same kinds of aspects of the product and service that I care about.
While B6 won't say it, I wonder if they've just decided not to really go after frequent flyers who expect more for their loyalty?
I'm glad I took this inaugural flight, and had the JetBlue experience I did!
I'll actually be flying several more times on this route because I snagged the $7 fare. I'll report back on any significant developments from the field.
But once the $7 tickets are gone, I might be back to US Airways and Southwest unless you all can convince me why I should stay based on the above things that are important to me as a frequent flyer?
Its likely that all the airlines are going to largely match fares, so the differentiater really is in the product, service, and experience.
My bigggest issue is with the $100 change/cancel fee and the lack of free flexible same day change options. I can live with it if unofficially B6 is not going to practically charge me these fees.
Terminal A is also an issue, its not as convenient as hopping on AA, DL, and US from the DC metro. But then again terminal A is a lot closer than going out to catch a WN flight at BWI.