tphuang

a lot of these cost cutting measures you see and implementation of basic economy is due to the existential threat JetBlue is facing in Boston right now. Yield is going down in a lot of profitable markets because that's what increased competition does. To a lesser extent, they are facing similar challenge in FLL with NK. These cost saving programs and addition of A220 is what's going to enable them to sustain no cost growth for the next 5 years.

But a lot of what DL has been willing to do in the past few years at BOS and SEA (basically losing huge amount of money to build up their operation) is predicated on the continued growth of business community's corporate spending budget. It's kind of hard for me to see economy not having some kind slowdown given the dramatic slowdown in the manufacturing sector for the past few months + the effect of Boeing shutting down MAX production. In the event of reduction corporate air travel spending, DL probably gets hurt more than anyone else. That's why you are already seeing them shifting focus back to their "core" hubs next year.

If I am a ff in BOS, I'd think twice about shifting my allegiances to DL. That buildup is upon a lot of unsustainable route performances. I would be shocked if BOS isn't the first "hub" to see large cuts from DL in a recession.

I tend to think what you are seeing right now with JetBlue is about 3 years of pain (2018, 2019 and 2020) that will turn around once A220 and A321NEOs start coming in large numbers and the legacy airlines will feel pressure for higher compensation from unions pissed off about all the flying going to JV partners. I understand the frustration people feel, but I don't think it's a long last thing. Hard for me to think of more customer friendly experience than A220s and the new A321NEOs + whatever they will fly across the ocean.

synzero

This sounds plausible but what concerns me about this trend is that it is not just cost cutting -- it is a shift in philosophy, to my mind in a self-defeating direction. In other words, penny wise, pound foolish. In my case, because they didn't want to take responsibility for a screwup that was clearly their responsibility, they pushed me not only to switch my loyalty to Delta but to tell my friends, family, coworkers, and people here online about my experience. How much did they save by doing this, and how much did they lose? Not paying lost baggage reimbursement also seems to me to be a losing proposition. I understand the need to cut costs, but to do so by sacrificing customer experience in ways that actually hurt their long-term bottom line doesn't bode well to me.

Delta and Southwest have very high customer satisfaction ratings, yet despite this, they also have the highest net profit margin among major US airlines. I don't think this is mere coincidence. Sometimes "saving money" costs you a hell of a lot of money, and that's something I think JetBlue management doesn't seem to understand. In any rate, I'm going to switch -- if JetBlue recovers in the future, hey, I'll give it a try again. For now, the evidence doesn't seem good to me.

GW McLintock

Very true.

I noticed a lot of the changes we've been discussing started taking place after Ben Baldanza joined the board of directors in 2018. He was the CEO of Spirit Airlines until 2016 and oversaw their transition into an ULCC; since he left, Spirit has remained an ULCC but has quite literally gone from worst to first in terms of on-time performance, customer service, and other metrics among its peers. Just something to think about.

-J.

moulder3

I will NEVER understand why B6 customers are cheering the arrival of A220 when it means losing the E190s. B6 will switch from 100 seat planes with NO middle seats and the most comfortable economy seats & legroom to new ~140 seat (longer load/unload and time to get checked bags) planes with reduced legroom, less comfortable seats & MIDDLE seats. I get why it's more economical for B6, but definitely a downgrade in customer experience.

As for the A321NEO, that's not a great plane either. I was excited to fly it for the first time a few months ago but wasn't blown away. It has the AWFUL SpaceFlex bathrooms and is a clear downgrade from the A321Mint and even the A320 from the economy passenger experience. Less legroom, bigger plane (longer load/unload & checked bag times) and again reduced legroom. You could make an argument the A321NEO is better than the non-Mint, 200 seat A321...but it's close.

GW McLintock

Don't worry, the refurbished A320s also have the SpaceFlex lavatories and aft galley, and are very close to the A321neo's cabin experience.

The new seats are nice, and the map is cool, but that's the extent of my praise. Mood lighting looks cool but I'd rather have a dark cabin -- at least on the NEO the lights aren't as bright.

-J.

synzero

I've been trying to figure out what happened, was there a management change? Looking over news articles I didn't see anything obvious that might have prompted this sudden downturn in customer experience. But that makes a ton of sense.

GW McLintock

I think things really started going downhill around 2017 or 2018. The most significant change was the representation by the TWU in 2018. Once that happened, the company's hands became tied until a contract is ratified (looking back, I think this is actually a good thing). A lot of the other changes have to do with the union as well. There have been changes in leadership and middle management. All of this has contributed to the continuous decline in morale. Don't forget that JetBlue FAs are some of the lowest paid among their peers. I'm not saying FAs should make that much to begin with, but knowing others doing the same thing as you make a lot more is not a good feeling.

This quite literally describes JetBlue's attitude to a number of matters, especially the union vote. They must have had three or four pizza parties at each base leading up to the vote. It was as if they wanted a union.



-J.

tphuang

It's hard for me to think of a better customer experience aircraft than A220. Just think about it this way, i think it was also certified for 6 across seating. Which should given you an idea of how much more width the seats have compared to other narrowbody aircraft. The pitch will still be 32 inches, so same as E90, but the seats will be wider. It will have larger window, larger luggage cabins, wider aisle, quieter interior (has the latest engines) and the newest generation IFE. Sure, it will have one middle seat per row, but airlines have got around that problem by offering 19 inch wide middle seat. I mean this aircraft was touted by DL as a premium experience aircraft. It has drawn rave reviews everywhere. And B6's version will have more leg room, better and free wifi + satellite TV. If I'm B6, I'd promote the heck out of the fact that this aircraft will be primary work horse of the future. It will probably replace a lot of A320 as well as E90 routes.

As for A321NEO, you'd have to compare all-core to all-core and mint config to mint config. The cabin should be quieter with the latest generation engines and it will also have pantry area which CEO didn't have. You can't possibly expect all-core version to be at mint level quality. And you can't expect B6 to be offering 34 inch pitch when all the airlines are offering 28 to 31 inch. But I do think that when mint 2.0 comes out, it will be an improvement over mint 1.0 with all aisle access J seating.

Well DL gets their profit level from over charging hubs that they dominate. It's well known that MSP and DTW have some of the highest fares in the country. They really make very little money in places like JFK/BOS where they compete against B6. Just think about how outrageous the transcon J-fares to places like SAN/SEA/LAS were before mint entered those markets. B6 is the single reason that for NYC customers, our fares are reasonable to most places. And thankfully, that will expand to TATL flights a year from now. And it's for that reason, even though I don't fly them much these days (due to their limited network), I make use of their credit card when possible. I support great airline competition in NYC. And I'm not saying B6 will recover, but that DL is going to start cutting back when the next recession hits. And it's not that far away.

RWPrincess

In this timeframe, they promoted from within a new President as well and that lead to several senior executives departing the company. Now I've never been a fan of some of those folks that left, but at least people seemed happier overall. In terms of overall customer satisfaction, taking the head of JFK Operations which weren't terrific to Mosaics to begin with and making him VP of Loyalty seems a bit of a stretch. I would have thought they would have brought someone in externally for that type of role.

MSYtoJFKagain

I'll be honest about 90% of my flights are shifted away from B6 for next year at this point. Mostly to Delta, one RT to Alaska, the rest are international carriers. I have one B6 RT on the books as of now, possibly 2 more around the holidays in 2020. I don't have the frequency to get Mosaic anymore and well over half my flights are on my own dime. As a non-status Delta flier, I know exactly what I'm getting as long as I'm on a mainline route. Their A220 service is fantastic, the hard product is identical, and their IRROPs makes B6 look pedestrian. Mint is the only advantage has over DL right now and I'm no longer on the LAX/SFO-JFK routes like I once was. As my flight patterns have shifted, B6 is just not competitive on any of the routes I'm going for. They are always the most expensive to MSY now, even with Blue Basic factored in. They are always the most expensive to ORD which is nothing new but the gaps are growing ($150 more than legacy carriers for a Thursday - Sunday RT). Their flights to BOS are competitive but only out of LGA which is a no-go for me. My only RT on the books is a RT to Hyannis in the summer.

I'm excited to blow my warchest of miles on TATL when it happens and then probably never look back. It was a fun run while it lasted.

GW McLintock

I just booked a trip in May/June to California for a wedding, and being a free agent is nice (for the first time in a decade). I picked a much closer airport than anyplace JetBlue serves. Even to JetBlue cities, they were never the cheapest. I am taking AA there (from LGA! and crediting to AS) and AS back with a 6-hour layover in SEA to see some friends. I am even on track to hit MVP by the end of the year. I have yet to fly Alaska and I already quite like them.

-J.

tphuang

Unless you fly a lot on company dime or live in a city with not a lot of alternatives, everyone really should be free agent. The low tier status on legacies aren't worth much of anything. Unless AA at NYC, because you can still get a bunch of free upgrades. Nowadays, JetBlue simply doesn't work for my travel pattern at all. Although, that might change once they start flying to Europe. We will see. This has allowed me to always book the cheapest reasonable J or F seating. Which means no Delta flying ever, since their pricing is outrageous out of NYC. UA always seem to offer the most reasonable F pricing domestically for me. AA always seem to have the cheapest J fares on JFK-LAX/SFO.

sfozrhfco

Unless you are on AS coded flights the whole way you won't be getting any AS credit from AA flights. Their partnership is effectively over on 29 Feb 2020, except for a few limited codeshares through Chicago.

danib62

Now with JetBlue also getting into the whole basic economy scam like everyone else I see no reason to choose them over the other airlines. Prices are generally comparable and the big 3 have much more robust IRROPS capabilities.

GW McLintock

Rats. Well the AA flights were unavoidable on the way going out (the absolute cheapest by about $100, and perfect times too). I am still happy with AS overall.

-J.