tphuang

I can't see it remaining $1500 per person if you wait a little closer to Christmas.

also, keep in mind that they are having a lot of operational issues right now due to schedule ramp up. A lot of that should improve by Sep/October.

michael1023

yeah I’m trying to time it to buy about 90 days before, I’ve read online 90 days before is a decent time to buy international tickets. Imagine paying 1500 and being crammed in for a 7 hour neo flight!

tphuang

https://www.google.com/travel/flight...NEUSBggBEAAYAA

I see $695 for a late August R/T trip. Even factor in EMS, it should still be no more than $1000 R/T. I'm sure Christmas will be more expensive, but I've never seen VFR fare at that level close in (even for a 7 hour flight). If I were you, I'd wait a little while.

Just personally though, AA's FC experience doesn't provide any additional leg room over A321NEO EMS and it has no seat back IFE. I don't get much from it. I also haven't gotten access to admiral club with a domestic FC ticket. Maybe I missed out on something.

michael1023

yeah, ill have to wait for now. ive flown b6 twice to gye within the past year and both times the experience was underwhelming at best. first time, forced to gate check bags even with EMS, and second time extreme delays, not only due to weather(understandable), but weights and balance issues, they literally had to take off a few standbys and their bags, which took over an hour at 1am

and i dont like the 3x3 seating arrangement, i prefer to be with my spouse only

with no LATAM, and i dont trust Eastern too much, i will have to research AA, which i know has 3 daily flights to/from GYE

bennos

I don't understand the need or impulse to go to an agent in person during an IROP incident. The handful of times I've had an issue while already in a lounge, or while in the airport before departure, I find the most effective option is self service (mobile, website, etc) when possible, or calling the 800 # otherwise (since you won't be competing with everyone else on the plane or in the airport, unless it's a systemwide meltdown). 24 Mint passengers rushing to the lounge to have the one or maybe two agents deal with rebooking isn't going to be much better than going to a general service desk.

Of course, since this is B6, there won't be much rebooking to be done. Either you'll sit around and wait for your flight to be rescheduled, or you'll get one of the two remaining seats on tomorrow's flight :P

If IROP handling is your concern, you shouldn't be flying Mint...

tphuang

They should be able to rebook you on fi or ei. Whether they will know how to do that is a different story.

dw

I think one issue is that times like now, the wait times to call in will be in the hours, and often on day of departure, unfortunately, self serve options can be limited. Ideally (hypothetically) if your flight cancels last minute due to a mechanical, you could rebook for the next day using the app and it’d email you a hotel room confirmation and some meal vouchers- but can B6’s IT really do that?

bennos

Fair point re wait times, though I was thinking more "normal" times when the airlines catch up on staffing.

I compare a lot against DL because I (used to) fly them a lot... as an example once on the way to the airport to fly MKE-LGA I got notification that my flight was canceled (due to weather). It was the last flight of the day. I pulled over, and using the app rebooked myself to my choice of available flights the next day. Since it was WX I was not entitled to a hotel, but if I were I could have submitted my hotel bill for reimbursement (not a published benefit, but many successful reports on FT) or called the 800 # and then gone to a self service kiosk to print out a hotel voucher (a better comparison for MX at the airport; I haven't done this in a while, I assume it's still a thing).

With B6's less frequent service, smaller network, and not feature complete IT, I not only expect a lower price than DL, but also am only willing to book them on itineraries where I have a great deal of flexibility, up to and including cancellation. The presence or absence of a lounge is "nice to have" for me, but wouldn't influence my purchasing decision much if at all compared to the other factors.

theboss7593

Clearly you haven't flown LH and been in the lounge during IRROPS, the lounge agent finds out before the gate does and proactively they've already rebooked you. From there if you don't like the option it can be changed but generally speaking 80% of people are okay with the automatic changes. Not saying that B6 will be that efficient, but they should be.

GW McLintock

That will never happen at JetBlue. They are notorious for horrible communication. Customers often find out of delays and cancellations before employees do. This is something they can strive for after they are acquired by a legacy in a decade or two, but I don't ever expect to see this kind of efficiency there as a standalone carrier in my lifetime.

The Delta Sky Club is not dissimilar from LH. Maybe they don't find out before the gate, but they do around the same time and have been exceedingly helpful.

-J.

michael1023

i have been using google flights to track what i want, dec 21-jan 3 OR dec 22-jan 5, and both non stops via b6 are over $1200 per person...about 3 months out right now, im hoping these come down in the next few weeks, although there really isnt another direct option, id rather fly direct then connect, especially with the 3 day test rule, if theres a delay, etc...

GW McLintock

Kicking myself. I meant to take a look tonight to see if the sign was uncovered or if there was indeed a space being created. But I got distracted

-J.

GW McLintock

Welp, might as well call it quits on this thread for now. The area on the sign that said "Lounge" is now completely blacked out. This appears to be the case all the way up to T5i.

-J.

michael1023

another bullseye for B6...might have to take my talents elsewhere