steve100

I just flew JetBlue nonstop from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale, and I was absolutely blown away by the experience. For the record, I am a current AA AAdvantage Platinum members, as well as a CO OnePass Gold member, and I have regularly fly AA, CO, NW, and lately DL. I also occassionally fly AmericaWest, Alaska, United, USAirways, and SouthWest.

This was my first JetBlue flight and I really was expecting it to be like SouthWest (this does not imply that it is a bad thing, it is just very different airline than the others mentioned above). This really blew away all of the majors. Here are my impressions of the flight:

1) The Live Television at every seat is awesome! They turned it on the minute we left the gate, and we were able to watch as we taxied to the runway. They did not shut it off until we were at the gate in FLL. This really made the time go by quickly. You only get NBC (of the major broadcast channels), but then like 24 other channels (like CNN, MTV, Weather, Food, etc). We also got 4 'on-board' movie channels. I knew that they were on-board because occassionaly when the system cut out due to plane movement, those 4 channels stayed on uninterrupted.

2) The seats were awesome! All the coach seats were very comfortable and leather. There appeared to be plenty of leg room as well.

3) The plane was brand new in excellent condition.

4) The flight attendants were very friendly and helpful. The plane was packed full and they were very pleasant and helped people store luggage.

5) Great drink / snack service. Instead of carts in the aisle, they took your order (like first class), and then brought FULL cans of soda / drink to you. You could order more than one as well, and the beer was only $3. I thought that it would take longer with no cart and a packed plane, but it did not. Also, the snacks were really good - the bags were not miniscule, great assortment (7 or 8 different choices), and you could have as many as you want.

6) Terminal E in Boston (Jetblue's terminal) really blows away Terminal B in Boston (where AA is, my main carrier). I felt relaxed and unrushed in the new Terminal, whereas everytime I go to Terminal B and fly AA, I feel like cattle in an old and dingy place.

7) The check-in Kiosks were really cool - updated graphics and nice looking.

8) I actually was supposed to fly JetBlue once before and I had to cancel that flight. The rebooking / cancellation fee was only $25 (unlike the $100 fee for most of the majors). To top it off, to use the remaining balance, I just purchased the ticket like normal on JetBlue's website, and their system said, "You have $XXX.XX in credit, would you like to use it for this flight?". It could not have been easier and so much less hassle than the majors.

9) I didn't have to buy a roundtrip flight or stay a Sat. night to get the great fare.

The whole attitude and feel kinda, somewhat reminded me of Virgin Atlantic.

You know, the experience was so great, I didn't even miss my 'chance' at an upgrade to First with elite upgrades on the majors. The whole experience was like flying in First on other airlines. I didn't feel superior to other passengers because we were all in the same great 'boat'.

As the fare was so cheap, I really didn't even miss earning my AAdvantage points. I know, I know - before I start getting flammed - they have no real international network, but I have to say, the majors have a real lot to learn from Jetblue.

SkaterJasp

Basically same reason on why I switched from flying on American to flying on jetBlue

obscure2k

My brother is no longer doing mileage runs on UA. His daughter is now living in NYC and they both commute on a regular basis from OAK on Jet Blue. In no way, does he miss UA, nor their mileage program.

steve100

Update from return trip:

1) I was able to fly 'standby' on an earlier flight with no charge. About 30mins. before depature, they called my name and gave me a confirmed seat in the exit row.

2) The incoming flight was slightly delayed, and I thought this would make my outgoing flight delayed. NOPE, we still left on time! They deboarded the existing passengers extremely quickly, and then they proceeded to board us. What was amazing was that they had half the passengers board from the tail of the plane (we walked down the stairs, out on the tarmac, and then up stairs to the rear of the plane). So, it boarded twice as fast.

3) I had the first row of the emergency exit row. Although you get more leg room, I really didn't relish the fact that the seat wouldn't recline... I was wrong! Unlike almost all of the major carriers, about 10 mins. into the flight, the flight attendant came by and 'unlocked' the emergency row seat recline bar, and now my seat could fully recline!

4) In the seat back pocket were in-seat exercise cards from "CRUNCH" fitness. The flight attendant actually got a number of people sitting around me to try it out! She wasn't pushy or anything, she just mentioned the fact that they were there and a few people took her up on it.

I've just booked my next trip on JetBlue to California! I can't wait!

jaguar

I fly over 100K a year and wish JetBlue was closer to where I live so I could fly them more often. I took a flight from LGB to OAK and agree they are far and away the best carrier.

FWAAA

With AA now abandoning most of its MRTC initiative (and imposing more and more anti-customer intiatives), more and more people will probably sample B6 and be pleasantly surprised by the fact that B6 features increased leg room at 65% of its seats (everything behind the emergency exit rows) and is as good as (if not superior to) other airlines.

Now if only B6 could increase its yield - as an investor, I think it's about time B6 focus on increasing revenue instead of continuing to cut price.

bluecrew85

Glad to see people enjoying the "JetBlue Experience"! ^

gmailflyer

According to previous investor presentations by B6, they have one of the industry's highest satisfaction rates. In some years they had ZERO DOT complaints. I remember that they quoted on some surveys over 95% of passengers said they'd fly again on B6 (and some of these surveys were pre-TrueBlue days).

hwk1948

Sounds like an airline company I will definately have to try. Thanks for all the Great info.

m600

I agree with your sentiments. I have been flying JB between JFK and ROC and have found the experience to be a refreshing change.

One thing, international network, JB may not have one but, their terminal at JFK, 6 is next to BA's terminal 7. This is very handy. I have been using Flight 32 to ROC which connects nicely with the BA flight I take into JFK. It's easier than making connections with certain flights at Heathrow.

channa

Can JetBlue interline your luggage? I know that's a big downer with Southwest, but SW doesn't serve some of the gateway cities JetBlue does.

SkaterJasp

No, they dont.

GuyIncognito

I concur with most of your points. I had a great experience flying JetBlue IAD -> FLL. At the time, UA (my preferred airline) didn't fly that route, so I figured what the hey. The service was awesome; the flight attendants were friendly, snacks were tasty, and the in-seat TV can't be beat. A nice bonus is their use of the stairs at FLL to enable them to board and disembark passengers quicker. I don't mind carrying my luggage up and down steps if I can get out of the back quicker (and thanks to their seat layout with more pitch in the back, they provide a good incentive to actually sit behind the wings). Keep up the good work JetBlue! I'm hoping they'll be one of the first LCC to eventually offer international service to Europe. That might be the final nail in the coffin for the majors.

StudentExplorer

I concur. I too was incredibly happy with my first Jetblue experience last year. No hassles getting onto an earlier flight. Comfortable seats. An attentive crew that looked happy to be there. And the entertainment, of course, was great.

I was really excited when I moved to Vermont to find out that they also serve Burlington. With my parents in Florida, it makes flying home that much easier and a much more pleasant experience.

I also found Jetblue to be a more pleasant experience then Song.

steve100

I just flew JetBlue twice more - both times to/from Boston-> Oakland. On one of the flights, the pilot was greeting people boarding the plane by standing at the end of the jetway and wishing them a great flight. Of course, this is right where the line backs up to enter the plane, so everybody had time to actually talk with the pilot (and not just say 'hi').

Also, I just noticed that they upped the number of DirectTV stations from 24 to 36 channels!