Dm84

No kidding. Sometimes there isn't even enough time to give everyone their can of soda.

N639DL

B6 only has E190s and A320s...I highly doubt they would ever obtain 757-300s. They are an all-Airbus/ERJ airline. $59 one way is a little bit low.

Well at least some form of IFE.

Dm84

I've flown for $49 from JFK-BOS one way.

There's literally no point. Once in the air, you have 40 minutes or less till touchdown (assuming no major ATC delays at EWR).

201flyer

OK. I overestimated the trip time. But it is scheduled at about 5 hours on the Northeast Regional to Boston from MetroPark. I any case, in my experience the train is delayed about 30% of the time which makes the Amtrak alternative less than ideal if you need to keep to a schedule. And that is even if you do have the 4 to 5 hours to kill.

sbm12

Considering that CO is the main operator of 753s in the world and there really aren't a ton out there looking for a new home the unlikely nature of B6 picking up 753s is pretty real.
Why? The average flight time is 40 minutes. There really isn't a need for IFE on the route.
Indeed, because Newark never runs at a 70% on-time rate.

Dm84

This is the biggest reason I try to avoid the BOS-EWR flight and take Amtrak instead.

bennytma

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! I just moved from Brooklyn to Princeton and have family in Boston so this is HUGE for me.

Although this must have either been (i) a last minute decision or (ii) a tightly held secret. I emailed B6 less than two months ago asking if/when they might start BOS-EWR service. See my email to them and their reply below.



To: bennytma
Re: email received Monday,07/19/10 3:32 PM, Speak Up 2355522

Dear Ben,

Thank you for contacting JetBlue Airways, we love you too! We always consider the routes our customers suggest. While we don't currently have any plans to offer flights between Boston and Newark, we hope you'll stay tuned to jetblue.com for updates and information on all our upcoming
routes: http://www.jetblue.com/wherewefly/
(Copy and paste the link into a web browser if you are unable to click on it)

We look forward to serving you again Ben, and thank you for looking to JetBlue Airways for your
jetting needs!

Sincerely,
T
Customer Commitment Crew
JetBlue Airways
Crewmember #XXXXXXX


Original Message Follows:
------------------------
E-mail Address: bennytma
Customer: ben
Phone Number: XXXXXXXX
TrueBlue member: Y
PNR:
Departure City: BOS
Destination City: EWR
Flight Date: 8/22/10
Flight Number:
Urgent: N
Crewmember:
LevelOne: Airports
LevelTwo: Other
LevelThree:
Comments: Hi Jetblue. I love you guys. I grew up in Boston so I use Jetblue a decent amount and love your increased service here. I'm writing to ask if you could start Boston-Newark service. Only Continental serves this route and its cheapest advance purchase fare is nearly $300! It seems like a perfect route for you! Plus I'm moving to Jersey next month and hate the idea of having only three options to get to New England...expensive Continental from Newark, Southwest from Philly and a 6+ hour NJ Transit/Amtrak ride.
Thanks!
Ben
Recommend Level:

sbm12

They cannot and will not announce anything to anyone before the official press release happens. Even if they actually knew it was coming they'd deny it until the release goes out. They have to else the SEC and other federal agencies start to get a bit upset.

Seat13c

Not to mention that they may not had all the route details worked out when you were in contact with them. How pissed would you be if they said it would be announced on or about X date but they never do?

bennytma

Of course - I just thought they would at least reply something to the effect of 'we're always evaluating new cities' similar to what I've received from other AAirlines in the past, instead of the categorical 'no' they sent me. Regardless, I'm psyched.

N639DL

Wow, I didn't think it was that low.

In regards to the IFE, B6 will have AVOD obviously so CO could make it even. DL sometimes has 738's on BOS-JFK, the A319s will get AVOD eventually on BOS-LGA.

Taking the train/bus to NYC is just about the equivalency to flying time-wise, I would take a flight over any train/bus regardless of distance and time, and even the price.

Dm84

Unless it's raining, snowy, windy, or congested at EWR, in which case you'd probably regret flying when the "slower" methods of transportation would've gotten you there quicker.

sullim4

I lived in NY for over 20 years and I never understood the appeal of the short LGA/JFK/EWR to BOS/DCA flights except under very specific circumstances. Given the fact that you have to drive to the airport, park, go through security, wait at the gate, fly (and unless you are on a DL shuttle flight at LGA that has priority, almost certainly get delayed), and then get transportation from the airport to your ultimate destination, it's maybe a 1 or 2 hour time savings over driving each way.

Given that these fares are usually several hundred dollars round trip, I always drove between NY and DC/Boston, and do so to this day when I am back in the area.

sbm12

I doubt that, as B6 does not have AVOD on any aircraft today and there is no indication that they will be changing from the existing LiveTV offering to something new.

No it isn't. Flying is faster. But this route isn't about the NYC market so much as the northern NJ market.

CAGuyInNY

Well, 2 hours each way is four hours total, which if you're trying to keep the trip to a single day can mean up to double the effective time at your destination.

If you have a car, that's great, but if you don't have one, rental cars and petrol aren't cheap, either.

And Amtrak only has WiFi on the Acelas, which are much more expensive than the Northeast Regionals, so a business traveler has limited . The cheap buses (BoltBus, Megabus) and the business-class bus (Limoliner) have WiFi, but if your destination isn't Manhattan these services are of limited usefulness.

Something else to keep in mind is "what's the final destination?" Let's say you're in Boston and you're going to visit one of the many pharmaceutical companies with facilities in central New Jersey. Flying to EWR means you can pick up a rental car at the airport. AFAIK, there's no rental car facilities at Newark Penn or Metropark.

Finally, in winter Amtrak is also very susceptible to delays, especially in very windy conditions when the catenary (the overhead power lines) can get blown down.