sfozrhfco

http://mediaroom.jetblue.com/investor-relations/press-releases/2022/11-16-2022-130034369

Boston-CDG will add much needed competition against AF/DL.

GW McLintock

Sacre Blue!

I am really quite surprised they are going to CDG and not ORY. They are going to the less convenient airport with tons of competition. But I guess that's the only airport they could get into.

It's also no surprise that they announced it this morning, barely an hour ahead of the Skift forum in Dallas.

-J.

Dn10

Good to see. Wonder what the Mint prices for these routes will be and what European routes will be next.

Blumie

CDG is more convenient, IMHO. I’d much rather fly into CDG than ORY.

sfozrhfco

They are also not going to get many business seats sold flying to ORY. Given the limited capacity of the planes, their competition with be DL/AF and thus they need to capture a piece of the traffic going to CDG.

N830MH

There you go! It's very easy for me. I have been CDG in 2013. I was connecting the flight to BSL on Air France Hop! I went through CDG more than 6 months ago. I missed my flight AMS-BSL on KLM. They rebooked me on my next flight to BSL. I have a very long day for me.

GW McLintock

I can't imagine there will be a ton of people connecting from JetBlue in France Do they have any partners there besides QR/SQ/SA?

-J.

N830MH

I don't know if they ever have any codeshare partners. I am not sure for which airlines. I suggest you have ask JetBlue on Facebook page.

hughw

As a United Airlines million mile lifetime gold, I'm pretty committed to flying UA when I can for a variety of perks....Now, that BOS is my home airport rather than EWR, JetBlue would certainly be a possibility for our yearly trip to France. What I find surprising is the very subdued response to this announcement of Flyertalk.....only 7 comments so far before this one. I would guess when UA announces a new destination of this sort (i.e Athens), there would be dozens of comments the first day. Perhaps that's a reflection of the JetBlue forum having reduced number of followers, perhaps because JetNlue is primarily a domestic airline.

But whatever, this is great news. And I'll be interested to see how fares price out with even more seating.

GW McLintock

Considering BOS-LGW is going to the A321neo non-LR and cold meals will be served in Y, I'm not sure I would consider JB as a "real" transatlantic option until they get the planes they need to actually support their schedule (among many other issues they need to work out).

-J.

billygoat27

I’m pretty psyched. More competition with brand spankin’ new planes, competitive terminal and in-flight experience is always valued and appreciated!

JFK: T5 > T1

in-flight:
- AF J = Mint J (eg, everyone wins!)
- Even more space > AF’s awful Premium Economy seat
- A321LR > AA, UA and DL dinosaurs (although I can see how others prefer a wide body jet on such a long flight)


At first, I was also surprised they picked CDG over ORY. I wonder to what extent Orly’s long standing reputation as a dumpy facility and the home of charters/LCCs played into that. Eg, that stereotype making it harder to attract French business travelers and those willing to pay for “Even more space”.

FWIW, just like LGA is getting it’s act together, so is Orly. Mrs Billygoat and I were pleasantly surprised by our AF JFK-ORY last year. And once the Metro Line 14 extension is complete, it’ll be 23 min trip to Gare de Lyon.

https://www.ratp.fr/en/groupe-ratp/m...n-orly-airport

Good stuff!

hughw

So, JetBlue makes this announcement a week ago but still hasn't posted any flights. Meanwhile, if you try to book a flight in the fall between NYC and Paris, JB gives you a few options that only the desperate would be likely to book, flying to BOS on JB, then Icelandair to Iceland, connecting to a third flight to Pais...12-1/2 house our, 15 hours back...all for about $1,000. For the same price, you could fly directly to Iceland on Icelandair and then to Paris. or you could fly non-stop on United or other airlines for a couple of hundred more. If you're going to announce a flight, why not make it available.

GW McLintock

It's been a long time (maybe 10 years) since I've flown AF, but their PY seat is at least an actually better seat whereas EMS is simply a Y seat with more legroom. I would never say EMS is better than that. I'd also definitely prefer an old honkin' 767 to an A321 if for the sole reason of not getting tossed around in turbulence. I've been told the turbulence has been an issue over the last several days specifically to the extent that it has interrupted onboard service on JetBlue, something that rarely happens on a widebody on TATL.

Considering they don't have the planes to support a schedule yet, I can see why they are holding off on actually publishing flights in the GDS. Hopefully this changes soon!

-J.

billygoat27

I guess we see things differently. AF's Premium Economy has some awesome things: J check-in, great legroom and seat width, bigger tray table, food, outide shell that inhibits the person behind you from pushing, etc. All that said, I find it to be the least comfortable seats in the sky because it does not recline, and the seat padding is non-existent. For me, those two negatives are so prominent, they render all the other great things moot -- especially for an 8+ hour flight.

Good point. Forgot about that. And Mrs. Billygoat agrees with you. CO (now UA) and AA used to fly 757s across the pond frequently. CDG-EWR on UA and CDG-JFK on AA were consistently 40 minutes longer than AF widebodies. I unscientifically chalked it up ETOPS range -- but it also could have been fuel burn due to strong headwinds. I also remember TXL/OSL/CDG-EWR flights that had fuel stops in BGR and/or Gander.

GW McLintock

Point 1: I've never actually flown AF W. Back in 2012 I got upgraded to it, but they moved me up to J before they closed the door. This was on an Airbus A330-200 FWIW. I thought the W seat was okay but didn't really explore it too much.

Point 2: yeah... I agree with the Mrs., I will actively go out of my way to fly a "real" airplane TATL. Would I take an A321 across the pond? Only if there was no other choice or the price of any other option prohibited it. The Boeing 757 is an exception as it has a bigger wing and handles turbulence much better than the A321.

-J.