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Old Mar 19, 2008 | 4:29 pm
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BearX220
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Originally Posted by JetBlueFA
Today's oil prices and falling economy have forced us to come up with ways to increase revenue. 80% of our revenue traffic is mom and dad taking the kids to Disney. We can't rely on that because when the economy drops they aren't going on vacation. We need business travelers who are going to travel and travel often. Business travelers want roomier seats and more perks.
All great and accurate points (except I doubt 80% of your traffic is really families heading for MCO or LAX). But I question how much B6 is really able or even willing to respond to what business travelers really want.

As one of the above I would rank my top ten needs from JetBlue in this order:

1. Reliable operations. Obviously the outfit touched bottom last year and is getting better, both with crisis ops and E190 dispatch reliability. But I still have the impression the system is running flat-out all the time and any disruption is trouble.I believe B6 is trying but booking B6 still calls for a leap of faith.

2. Frequencies per station. One daily flight to a lot of west coast cities doesn't cut it. When the only way to get back east on B6 is to miss a night's sleep, you lose me. You should have more presence in fewer cities. I don't believe B6 is being smart here.

3. Interlining agreements. When you cancel that once-daily flight, I can't wait 24 hours for the next one. B6 could do this but doesn't.

4. Competitive fares. They yo-yo dramatically. Like Southwest you've acquired an LCC rep but are often more expensive more than the old network carriers. Biz flyers are fare-sensitive to some degree. I won't pay significantly more to fly B6 given all these issues / concerns / risks, even if it is the best Y product in the US. B6 should be charging all it can, but in a fare shootout it's too pricey, too often.

5. Meaningful frequent-flyer program with broader / global redemption opportunities. TrueBlue doesn't do a thing for me. B6 could fix this, but doesn't.

6. Priority boarding / bin space access. No-status flyers on UA risk gate-checking everything because they're last to board, even if they paid $1,000 for their ticket. Higher-revenue business travelers should have first crack at the bins. B6 could do this but doesn't.

6. Wider seat. The real issue for me in coach isn't more legroom, but shoulder and hip room. I don't know how B6 fixes this without investing in some other seatset type. I don't think B6 can do anything about this.

7. More legroom. 34" is already much more than I get in the back of the bus on NW or UA. The new initiative is fine, but it doesn't address a problem I had with B6. B6 has addressed this.

8. Food. Frequently I step on a westbound plane at dinnertime not having eaten all day because I was working. I value F upgrades on other carriers for the (admittedly dismal) meal as much as anything. I don't think B6 can do much about this given onboard facilities.

9. Drink. Sure, if I pay $499 for a transcon ticket and the guy next to me paid $149, you could buy me two beers representing a cost basis to you of less than $2. B6 could do this, but doesn't.

NB my priorities as a leisure / vacation flyer are much different, and B6 works far better, but as you say that's part of the B6 strategy problem right now.

So the way I see it, "Even More Legroom" fixes a problem B6 didn't really even have, and if the company thinks it's a business-flyer magnet in and of itself it is way off base.

Last edited by BearX220; Mar 19, 2008 at 4:43 pm
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