Sorry if this has been discussed (I wasn't successful finding anything with Search), but I am a CO Plat Elite and I was thinking of paying for JetBlue to SJU next spring (vs using oodles of CO miles for a cheap flight). Do they really fly at these strange hours? 3AM departure from SJU? Forgive my JetBlue ignorance. Is this part of how they are trying to save money/utilize their assets to the fullest? How many people want to fly at 3AM?

Thanks.

Yes, obviously they fly those routes at those times, and from my experience the flights are full (into Newark and JFK)

Yes. And hurray to B6 for such high aircraft utilization rates.

Well you certainly don't HAVE to fly at those time, but they offer some flights like that, yes.

On a transcon run, its amazing. They'll have like a 5:30 departure out of IAD to LGB, get in around 8:30, turn right around and be a 9:30 LGB-JFK flight, get in at 6:30 AM, turn back around at 7:15 or so to SAN or OAK or something, and onward all day long.

The aircraft only sits when its being loaded/unloaded and serviced, that's it.

When something goes wrong, the delays are pretty amazing too.

Yet another reason to de-emphasize transcons for growth, IMHO.

Unless the summer schedule is different...all flights that say on the eastern seaboard depart JFK by 2400. I believe the SJU flight leaves JFK at 2340 and gets into SJU at 0230, unloads, turns around, and comes right back. The return flight is almost always sees load factors around 100%.

Are there no noise restriction laws at SJU?

Yes the delays are not great, as with any airline -- but when something goes wrong that is jetBlue's fault (example: lack of crew, mechanical, etc.)...they are quick to apologize with a $50 or so voucher for each customer booked on the delayed flight. Obviously, this does not apply for delays not within their control, due to weather or airport fault.

Also, jetBlue has the HIGHEST completion rate in the industry...in most cases, they prefer to go late than cancel the flight altogether. And, ontime performance is greatly improving once again.

Well for that reason I still can't get over the amazing lack of foresight involved in selecting an aircraft that can't complete major routes without a fuel stop a decent portion of the time. Whatevery money they saved by getting a deal from Airbus surely must have been squandered by now by the costs associated with delays from A320s that can't make it across the country.

My point was that by scheduling the aircraft for continuous service with short connections (as described by MFLetou), JetBlue is setting up the dominoes for cascading delays. Especially when the airline decides to fly rather than cancel, and especially when the airline does not have enough reserve aircraft. Once the weather or an extra fuel stop causes a problem, that problem persists for a LONG time.

Compare this to the situation at Southwest, where all aircraft are idle from roughly midnight to 6 AM. The previous day's problems rarely affect the current day's operations, and there is enough time for maintenance. The nightly shutdown acts as a fire break against cascading delays.

That said, it's rumored that Southwest will begin red-eye flights within a year or two. As long as they are a small percentage of operations, the incidence of cascading delays should be minimal.

This topic has been discussed enough already. However, I'll repeat my view and some facts on this one more time:

The A320 is fully capable of flying coast to coast (westbound) without a stop. However, this past winter has brought the strongest jetstreams in history!! When you're flying from the east to the west with a 200+ MPH headwind against you, it makes it kind of tough to go nonstop. Since most of jetBlue's flights are high load factor or sold out, that is more weight and makes it even more difficult. United and America West have experienced this same issue with using their A320-family aircraft on transcon routes. It's not jetBlue's fault that these incredible headwinds existed. This happened this past winter and a little the year before. The environment is changing and when jetBlue purchased the A320, these types of weather patterns simply did not exist. And, the fuel stops you are referring to only took place mainly during one month - February, when the winds were the strongest. There have been no stops whatsoever since and all the eastbound flights make great timing (under 5 hours) due to the tailwinds. jetBlue did get a "deal" from Airbus...but that's because Boeing did not take jetBlue seriously when making an offer. JetBlue's management were al "Boeing Guys" having strong roots from Southwest. That's what business is about - getting the best value and quality for your money. And the A320 is a great airplane - it is fuel efficient, contrary to what you may think. It has a wider cabin for more comfort than the 737 and the technology is just amazing. I still love Boeing and the 737 - but the Airbus product does not have the overall respect it deserves. Fortunately, it is gaining more respect as people around the world notice that they make quality products, just like Boeing. Also, the extra fuel tank which was installed on jetBlue's earliest A320's did not work out and added a great deal of weight to the aircraft - at least 2 (up to 5) of those older ones will be sold and more fleet commonality will exist.

FedEx uses A320's for air freight, which is a lot heavier than passengers and baggage. If the A320 was good enough for FedEx, I doubt that it is deficient for passenger service. FedEx may not fly transcon (SEA-MEM is probably the maximum) but I'll bet they sometimes encounter density altitude (hot, thin air) that limits the amount of fuel they can carry and still take off.

Speaking of which, the most common cause of extra fuel stops is density altitude. On a long flight from a hot and/or high-altitude location, the airline sometimes needs to reduce takeoff weight by removing fuel, baggage, or passengers. Short-haul flights are essentially immune to this problem.

I've been amazed by some of JetBlue's schedules, too. For example, if you want to fly JFK to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, you land at 3:30 am. What the hell do you do when you get in at 3:30 am? Could you rent a car? What about showing up at a hotel (are you going to pay an extra night for 2 hours of sleep -- and it's probably not even possible to check in at a smaller hotel). Anyone want to make friends or family pick them up at that time? It's just crazy. It's stetches utilization to the point of absurdity.

BTW, CO has a competing flight that leaves EWR at 6 pm and arrives shortly before 11 pm. The fare's usually the same. CO's return flight leaves after 9 am, while JetBlue's is at 6 sharp.

Me thinks JetBlue is probably losing money there.

Probably everyone on that flight simply goes home. In a taxi or bus or their own car.

That's right - PR residents are the likely pax on that flight. VFR is a huge part of the NYC-SJU market.

Tourists probably take the daytime flights that coincide with their hotel plans, and residents returning home probably dominate the flights that don't make sense for tourists.

Sure, there's probably some dimwit "look honey, I found a great fare" Clark Griswold on that 3:30am arrival, and he'll have to find something for he and his family to do until they can check in at their hotel, but I doubt this flight features very many of them.

That is nice for Continental. However, if Jetblue can make money on a flight that arrives at 3:30, more power to them. They have had that flight for a long while, at times increasing to two flights, and they are expanding Aguadilla to Orlando. I have heard that their Puerto Rico flights are some of their most popular flights.

You don't have to fly on Jetblue. That is why there are choices.