tai4de2

I am flying PBI-JFK in late June. I absolutely positively must be in NYC for a flight early AM the next day. I could be up to 12 hours late and still make my int'l connection.

However reading around the intertubes has me a bit concerned that jetBlue has an unfortunate tendency to cancel flights both at the last minute and after several hours of delay, at which point getting a flight later in the same day is not at all guaranteed.

The flight in question is 10AM on an ERJ-190.

Am I right to be concerned? I do realize that all airlines occasionally have to cancel flights and don't expect perfection. It just seems to me like more "my flight was cancelled" grumbling with B6 than other airlines I'm used to dealing with.

I'm thinking about all sorts of mitigation strategies: buying tickets on a later B6 flight the same day in case mine gets canceled, different airline, ... Part of the problem is that we will definitely have checked bags, limiting freedom in case something goes wrong.

Any insights -- airline, weather from PBI-JFK that time of year, ERJ issues, etc. -- greatly appreciated.

kayjay

From my own experience Jet Blue's on time record from PBI is atrocious. If there is a delay or cancellation you could consider flying to Westchester County airport (2 or 3 flights daily). You can take a taxi from there to the Metro north station in Harrison (15 minutes) with trains running every 20 or 30 minutes into Grand Central.

You could check to see where the plane is coming from prior to reaching PBI. Many of Jet Blue's weather delays are not caused by bad weather along the route but from weather delays prior to the plane getting to PBI. Many panes originate there north wood journey thru San Juan.

Although I think you should have lots of time if there is a problem, I suggest you be pro active and respond to any delays by checking alternative Jet Blue flights. I have not heard of them offering other airlines.

tai4de2

Thanks for the suggestion. Any of HPN, EWR, LGA, JFK would be fine.

What I am concerned about is a situation where jetblue has my checked bag, cancels the flight, and wants to route me out a day or 2 later and won't give me my bag in a timely enough manner for me to hop another airline's flight (at my own expense). If that happens I am well and truly screwed.

My thinking originally was that there are many more flights from PBI to NYC throughout the day and so absent some catastrophic event there should be no way I couldn't get to New York within the subsequent 12 hours. Is this airline truly less reliable from PBI than other airlines from PBI or FLL to the above airports? Would I be better off just buying new tickets on a different airline?

bmg42000

Unless their is a hurricane or snowstorm flying from PBI to NYC should be a good safe bet. I would not rely on a city such as HOU or SEA in which they have 1 flight a day as those get canceled first.

deelmakur

JetBlue has become unpredictable lately. They appear to have grown too quickly in the last 18 months, and may have outrun their capability to operate efficiently. The recent unionization of pilots, and departure of a very senior operating executive, would seem to suggest things are a little out of sync. Created as a low cost alternative, with heavy reliance on self service, they do not have sufficient people resources to handle cancellations. If you need to be somewhere, know that if they cancel, you will have some difficulty in completing your trip in a timely manner. A few weeks ago, faced with a 5 hour delay, on a 2 hour flight, I decided to rebook. When I went to to the counter, the agent had to phone Salt Lake City, to speak with the "Crew Desk". They kept her on hold for 25 minutes. She needed them to release me from my existing flight, since I had checked in.

They now charge fares that are the same, or higher, than legacy carriers. They are preparing to offer an "executive cabin" on transcon flights. This, from an airline which has inflight personnel who mainly serve pretzels and chips. The Frequent Flyer plan is confusing. It features "badges" and points, based on spend. Thus, a trip from NYC to Florida, could earn more points than a coast to coast flight. They have a partnership with Hawaiian Airlines, but when you try to look up how many miles one needs to redeem a ticket, the website simply tells you to call Hawaiian.

The other day, in the face of bad weather, they sent out emails, telling passengers to check their computers before coming to the airport. Evidently, they believe it's the customer's job to find out about disruptions. Keep that in mind, if you want to use them for business.

sfozrhfco

I would say to ignore the above statement as it has little basis in reality. Of course if there are weather issues, it is best for people to make changes at home rather than not bother to look to see if the flight is on time and sit around at the airport waiting to get on the next available flight.

JetBlue's frequent flyer plan is about as easy to understand any any frequent flyer program could possibly be. You have to call jetblue to redeem on Hawaiian as the amount of points you use is totally dependent on the amount that Hawaiian is charging. VX/WN operate on the same system. Don't have to worry about high/middle/low season, black out dates and all the random and confusing rules of legacy frequent flyer programs.

JetBlue was not created based on self service. Perhaps OP is thinking about Skybus. JetBlue has a customer bill of rights of usually ranks as having among the best service of any US carrier. Has the most leg room in coach and has free wifi on many of its planes now.

As somebody that flies on B6 several times a month, I haven't had any issues with reliability. NY airports have their issues for sure and bad weather leads to cancellations for all carriers but in June, it is highly unlikely that a hurricane or snow storm will hit Florida or New York.

tai4de2

Thanks for the insights folks.

I saw some ~$300 first class fares on AA and so in the end I decided to go for an early AM MIA-JFK flight on that airline. American has literally a dozen additional flights throughout the day into JFK and LGA which would get me there in time -- plus I have status on AA, which helps even more in case I need to get one one of 'em.

With that it is utterly inconceivable that I would not make my connection in New York on AA, absent some completely oddball event that I couldn't possibly predict or plan for.

kayjay

Many Jet Blue flights from PBI come from or through SJU. Accordingly, if there is a weather problem on the flight's prior route there may be delay or cancellation at PBI. If so Jet Blue will offer no compensation or consideration whatsoever.

audio-nut

They fly once a day from PBI to SJU and that ends in mid June. Looking at flightaware it looks like the schedule has the SJUPBI flight turn right back to SJU so exactly 0 flights from SJU go to PBI and then on to the northeast.

bmg42000

I would avoid EWR on any airline as 1 of the runways will be closed for a few months.

kayjay

[QUOTE=audio-nut;22801619]They fly once a day from PBI to SJU and that ends in mid June. Looking at flightaware it looks like the schedule has the SJUPBI flight turn right back to SJU so exactly 0 flights from SJU go to PBI and then on to the northeast.[/QUOTE

Had the SJU weather issue invoked twice last year.

deelmakur

I have had, and observed, a significant number of delays, and cancellations, in the last several months. The bad winter weather has been a factor, but there have been situations where a plane is available, but not the crew. I believe that's called "scheduling". E190 aircraft are also a problem. They seem to be prone to minor issues, which cause delays.

For several months, the 7 PM departure from PBI to HPN was an aircraft arriving from SJU. It was generally on time, but on some occasions, the flight crew was from a different aircraft, which led to delays. I think that was fixed. It is still tough to change tickets at an airport, especially if you have purchased an EMS supplement. Those fees are handled in a separate revenue stream. Counter agents appear to be constrained, when changes involve additional collections, or refunds. This is a nice little airline, but it is becoming much larger. JetBlue has been a model of innovation, which is why things like late addition of WiFi, and 3 months to get TSE Pre fully operational, stand out. The JetBlue customer really likes the product. That probably explains why their complaint ratio is low. My personal opinion is they are getting too big to manage under the old model. The original question on this thread was about reliability. It's evident that is a matter opinion. In my case, if I have to be someplace, I leave the night before.

tai4de2

Thanks again for the insights. In the end I simply figured I'd be better off on AA, considering the sheer number of flights MIA-JFK/LGA, and my AA status.

Usually I de-risk more effectively but this time I simply cannot leave the night before and cannot change the onward int'l flight from JFK.

deelmakur

The most recent on time rankings issued by the government are for February. JetBlue had a 64% rate. It was the third worst, exceeded only by Frontier and Express Jet, which are both basket cases. You can argue it was a bad winter, but other carriers operated in the same conditions, and did better. In addition, JetBlue has, on average, a much newer fleet than most US Domestic airlines.

bmg42000

But then they tend to hold the last flights so that people making connections will get home instead of being stuck over night (but having better on time stats). Having a JFK hub will hurt as this airport is bad even in good weather .