Normally I am a die-hard CO fan for the trips that I take during the year, considering I live relatively close to EWR. However, my extended family, all of whom live in NJ was well, was taking a trip down to Orlando (not my favorite destination, but it was more to be with family than anything). My sister booked her family and my other sister's family on B6. I was planning on taking CO, but she pressured me into flying on the same flights as them. So, considering the fact that I wasn't able to use B6 to LAS as I stated in a post from a while ago, I booked a roundtrip from JFK-MCO. I was definitely looking forward to the trip - I had heard a lot of hype about B6 and was curious to experience their supposed wonderful inflight service and employees, and of course, the Direct TV! Upon arrival to the airport, there was a HUGE line for checkin (this was a ~8:00 AM flight). We had to wait 1 and 1/2 hrs to check in! It was insane, thankfully we arrived rather early. The agent made no eye contact. Our entire conversation was the following.

"Going to?"
"Orlando"
"(Sigh)....Last name?"
"Cunningham"
"Bags?"
"Yes, we have 2."
"Put them here."

She then shoved the boarding pass into my hand and waved me off. Granted it was busy, but at least a "Hello" or eye contact would have been appreciated. The TSA employees were very friendly, as I have noticed at all airports around the US.

Finally, when boarding time came, the agent began boarding the plane in rows. She seemed pleasant enough when doing so, but when my son (he is 6) handed her the side of the boarding pass without the stub on it, she sternly said to him to "turn it around or I'm not taking it!". He was almost ready to cry (he is a somewhat shy child). I consoled him and we boarded.

The flight went somewhat better, although the F/A's would not address my children. They asked me and my wife what my sons would like to drink. When I asked him what he wanted, she had the nerve to say "I asked you, not your child!" I was really irritated - as if it mattered to her where I got the answer from. Also, my sons are totally capable of answering for themselves.

On a side note, the live television was nice, and my sons appreciated the Boomerang channel.

The return flight was somewhat better, but instead of being outright rude, the staff was just indifferent. I was surprised on the whole, as I have heard great things about jetBlue. Does anyone have any experiences similar to mine? I was quite disappointed.

[This message has been edited by Cory6188 (edited 11-02-2003).]

Cory, you experienced some truly rude people on your inaugural (or maybe last) flight on B6. I've never experienced such curtness. Now I have dealt with their lines. Sometimes they can be long, no denying that. Since I travel only with hand luggage, I can at least pick which of the two lines is better. If you have luggage, obviously you have no choice. While I can understand why the FA asked you what your children wanted, she/he was completely out of line by commenting on your asking your children what they wished to enjoy. Give me a break. If I had experienced that, I would have asked for the FA's name and reported the person. Never put up with such garbage no matter which airline's employees spew it.

I'll bet that if you write to JetBlue with your comments (and precise flight details/dates/times), they would be VERY interested in addressing your concerns.

I never experienced that type of problem in New York but I did experience something similar to that out of FLL... other than that, I've always recieved top notch service at every other jetBlue airport, even at JFK... but I've never waited that long in line, it normally move really fast.

DO email or call customer relations, provide your full flight details, etc. B6 cust relations should easily be able to identify who was working the cabin and choose to address this with them. Same holds true for check in. They should be able to identify what specific agent did the check in if they know your record locator.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will send an email to B6 customer service. I hope they can resolve any issues that these employees have, as I don't want other customers to be turned off by B6 as well.

That is surprising. I have really found B6 employees to be the most friendly and customer-focused in the air. I think your experience was unusual.

I will say that I think it is fairly common for the FA to address the parents as to what a small child should eat or drink - essentially giving the parent veto power. However, I have never known one to bark when the child answers.

In any event, if that is what happened, I think that you should write or call - and give the airline another try. That is certainly atypical of my experience.

Looks like B6 is starting to act like all the other airlines.

As for the long lines... I use one of the JFK valet parking services. Anytime they have to drop someone off at B6 (on the way to UA), I always cringh. Just getting through all those cars dropping off people...

Analise, have you experienced long waits for check-in?

I have only maybe a handful of times and those were for early morning flights to the west coast. I would just pick which ever line had the shorter wait. I take car service to JFK too and it does add stress to see the thick line of cars as you approach the terminal.

Did you write to customer service? Also I am curious about how B6's procedures are either similar or different from other airlines in terms of giving out compensation for mishandled passengers? Do they usually give out True Blue points, dollars off vouchers, or free tickets? Can airport agents and supervisors issue compensation, or only customer relations? Also how are they in terms of providing accommodations or ameneties during irregular operations?

Yes, I did send an email to B6 customer service, just letting them know briefly what had happened and that I was disappointed with their service, considering all of the wonderful things I had heard.

I didn't save the email, otherwise I would post it here. However, it was nothing meaningful, as it basically said that they were sorry and that they hope I try B6 again. It didn't seem liked they cared one way or another.

Sorry, loyal B6 fans, but it seems like CO is much better in comparison. I can also actually gather enough miles for an award ticket - the 12 months rule with B6 really stinks, and you can't go anywhere out of the country with them. I like that on CO I can go to Mexico, Europe, the Caribbean, or Hawaii - I'm flying to St. Thomas in April and Maui in November with CO with reward miles. Try doing that on B6.

[This message has been edited by Cory6188 (edited Jan 11, 2004).]

Interesting, surely one would have thought they would have given you at least some TrueBlue points as compensation for your trouble, given how they pride themselves on customer service. I would try one of the following things to get more satisfaction:
1. Either go to, or write your local airport station manager. I have personally done this with other airlines, and often the results are better than dealing with a corporate office;
or
2. Send a paper letter to the CEO. You might even explain, that despite how B6 prides itself on customer service, you were less than pleased with the email reply. While the CEO will probably not personally address your issue, one of his executive assistants may be able to provide you with more satisfaction than some kind of email answerer that the carrier may have. You also might indirectly softly imply that you might contact the media, or that you have contacts with in government or the media. Also if you softly mention that you might file a complaint with the DOT, this may help you. While the big six carriers perhaps have given up on caring about their DOT complaint ranking, it is my understanding that B6 receives considerably less complaints to DOT than the industry, and I think they would still like to keep it that way. If they don't respond favorably, then you can easily file a complaint on the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection web site Again DOT is not going to do anything about your little problem, but they will log the complaint in their database and it will count against B6 in that months ranking

[This message has been edited by jetsetter (edited Jan 11, 2004).]

Interesting. I always try to make a point of asking the child, and usually the parent will answer. I would not, however, make the remark that this FA did.(Although, I might think it) ****ed if you do, ****ed if you don't. I'm not trying to defend this FA, but I can understand why she/he would ask the parent. They will usually give the go ahead to us on the drink order. You should have definitely ask for her/his name.

Jetsetter, thanks for your recommendations, and if it mattered to me, I would pursue the matter further. However, it just seems that CO makes more sense for me, so I will let the issue lie. Thanks anyway though, I appreciate your efforts in trying to assist me.