I also have flown this route (BOS to DC) every week for the past year and two months (two months left to go) on Friday and Sunday, and have mixed both US and Jetblue. When it comes to a sense of 'urgency', US wins hands-down! Even on the rare cancellations or delays, they do their best to keep you updated, almost to the point of being annoying with email alerts. Every Friday afternoon at DCA, I always see the agents really furiously working the stand-by list, trying to get as many people on as possible. In fact, I can't recall the last time the 1530 or 1630 didn't go out completely full. Whenever, I stand by, I've felt the agents are making a good effort to get me home.

I'll contrast that with the experience I had recently with jetBlue, which I believe is pretty typical for them. I decided to catch the 1920 evening flight to DC instead of the one at 2100, and had called the Mosaic line to be moved. At the time I called, the only available seats were EMS and I wasn't going to pay an additional $30 for it, especially when A: it might be free if I wait; and B: I'm not paying for EMS on the DC flights any-more. Well, I get to the gate five minutes before boarding was scheduled to begin, to find that they've already started boarding, calling row 5 and up. During a lull and after I saw two other pax go up to the counter and get boarding passes, I asked the agent for a boarding pass. I was given a seat on the last row of the plane. I asked if there was any-thing closer to the front and was told no. Whatever, I thought, the plane is full: annoying, but no big deal. Well, boarding door closes, and we're leaving on time, despite boarding really early and there are plenty of seats (Really, why does is take 40 minutes to board an E190?). Obviously, the agent should have been pro-active with issuing seats. I've seen them do it before where they have the three or four boarding passes already printed and waiting. It's not like there is a stand-by list of twenty or thirty people, like on the US Air Shuttle. So after the flight, I called the Mosaic line to say, hey, what's the deal? And, oh, why do I have to call to have points posted. I was told by the supervisor: jetBlue does not treat any customers differently on the basis of Mosaic status. You're entitled to the benefits posted and that's it. So, I asked, what's the point of including that question in the survey after the flight? That received the same response.

I'm sorry for the long-winded nature of the reply, but to answer your question, it would appear that jetBlue could care less about frequent travelers. Well, maybe not 'care less', but it's certainly not a priority for them. And yes, I concur that the twenty minute cut-off is absurd when competitors can do it in ten. But, since BOS is home, I have a hard time avoiding them.