MileageAddict

I'm usually quite loyal to UA but the $139 RT fare and ideal schedule between IAD and FLL got my attention.

Any advice on what I can expect on this route? I did manage to snag window seats in the in the middle of the plane where the additional legroom is offered.

SkaterJasp

You can expect GREAT service, GREAT snack selection, GREAT inflight entertainment options, and LESS chance of your bags getting lost! Also, if for some reason your flight is delayed, expect to get realistic updates from the crew members... your not gonna be getting the "oh your flight will be leaving 15 minutes from now" speech every 15 minutes. The legroom is similar to that of Economy Plus on a UnitedPS flight just with inflight entertainment and a bit wider seats.... if your lucky, you might even get XM Radio on your flight. What you won't get is a chance to listen in on what is going on in the flightdeck and the communication with ATC. However, I think jetBlue's IFE, service, and comfy leather seats make up for that! Welcome to the jetBlue's trueBlue family... because I'm confident that after this flight, you'll be flying UA alot less! And I don't even work for jetBlue.

magiciansampras

I'm a 1K and I love JetBlue.

expert7700

excuse my ignorance, but could you fill me in on that one? Do you mean with airlines other than Jetblue (I fly southwest 99% of the time) one can tune in to the flightdeck/ATC communications? Does that involve bringing some kind of scanner/radio? sounds neat if possible

jetBlueNYFL

He was comparing jetBlue to UA - since the OP is a UA loyal customer and asked what to expect on jetBlue. UA offers "channel 9" which allows you to listen to ATC during your flight.

james1

I too love JetBlue, but only after I made my 1K status for the year.

jessej

i also made my first trip on Jet Blue this weekend

$100.80 for a roundtrip between iad and jfk
(about $24 less than the legacy carriers)

and as i wasnt able to get to the giants game yesterday
i was able to take an earlier flight home

positives
- seats were cheap
- seating with legroom
- went standby on an earlier flight at no charge
- free wifi in the gate area (although it wasnt working yesterday)
- ife system, as i was able to watch "Flava of Love" , both up and back

negatives
- FFP has no international routes or partnerships
- FFP credits expire in a year (?)

not sure when i will fly them again
but will when the price difference betwem them and the legacy carriers becomes large enough

JBLU421NYC

jetBlue doesn't do any Internation destinations (except several Latin countries in the Carribbean which are really too close to be considered real international destinations). They are a domestic discount airline, not really concentrating on introducing international destinations in the near future.

Secondly the FFP expires in one year ONLY if you do not have the jetBlue card from American Express. If you have the jetBlue AmEx card your points do not expire. Trueblue online is pretty good, but get the card and get points that don't expire.

MileageAddict

I completed my first B6 flight today and was impressed by every facet of the experience. Boarding was done in a civilized and orderly manner, the plane was freakishly spotless and perfectly clean, On-Demand TV was terrific even though there isn't much worth watching at 8 in the morning. Bountiful and unlimited supply of snacks and perfectly-brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee. The flight attendants were all attractive cutie pies and went up and down the aisle a half million times offering the snacks and beverages. Flight landed early. What else can you ask for? I give this experience a ^ .

If they were a true direct competitor of UA and offered F class and international destinations, I would switch allegiance in a heartbeat.

magiciansampras

Channel 9 would be nice .

CAL PHL FLYER

Well..Jetblue is Still a Discount Airline and in some respects you are going to get Discount Service..i.e..No airline lounges..No First Class so No chance of upgrades..No meals not even available for purchase..and no worldwide mileage program..also less experienced Flight Crews..Il stick with a Legacy Carrier.. @:-)

jetBlueNYFL

Pretty much all you mention is only offered to first class customers, those with elite status and/or those who pay for access to airport lounges at the legacy airlines. Overall, that is a very small percentage of the total public who travels. Therefore, comparing economy to economy for the "Average Joe" and the vast majority of the population - jetBlue offers much greater bang for your buck.

JetBlue does not have first class for a number of reasons. No first class seats...no second class citizens. First class would complicate the jetBlue business model and it is not needed. JetBlue offers what some like to call "Better Economy." Also, aside from transcons, most jetBlue flights are shoort to medium length. With 34" pitch, leather and the IFE - it's a pretty good ride. At legacy airlines, upgrades are harder to come by these days.

No meals? What airline ever offered a decent mail in coach??? Even the ones for sale are not all that good. People would rather pay less, and bring their OWN food than be served crap and pay more. Also, jetBlue offers a variety of unlimited snacks...FOR FREE!

No world-wide mileage program because once again that is not the market jetBlue is after.

Less experienced flight crews????? PLEASE, give me a break. That is the craziest thin I've ever heard in this industry. JetBlue has equal or higher standards compared with the rest of the industry when hiring flight crews. The FAA would not allow them to fly if they were not fully qualified and 100% capable....PLEASE, get real!

jetBlue is not for everyone - but for the millions of happy customers they do serve, they do a great job. Have fun on your legacy airline and I'll have fun on jetBlue.

TWA Fan 1

jetBlue is an all-coach airline with a focus on domestic U.S. travel (although they do fly to the Caribbean).

No, jetBlue does not have airport lounges as in United's Red Carpet lounge or Continental's President Club. If that's something that is important to you, then you will feel that jetBlue is not right for you. On the other hand, jetBlue does have free WiFi at a number of its terminals.

First Class. No, there is no first class. Then again there is premium coach. CAL PHL FLYER, I know you fly a lot of Continental. But unless you're flying exclusively in FC, B6 provides an infinitely better experience in coach than Continental and virtually every other legacy airline. The only possible exception is UA with its E+. But even here you can often end up in E- if you book a last-minute (and expensive) ticket. And UA's E- has the same wretched 31" seat pitch of CO's coach.

If you're buying FC on a legacy it's going to cost your beaucoup bucks. And if you're upgrading, on most legacies, you need to buy a coach ticket that is generally far more expensive than the typical B6 ticket, and--on most legacies--use a coupon or spend a little more money for the upgrade. CO has free, space-available upgrades, but these have become exceedingly rare, especially on discount fares.

Meals. It's not precisely accurate to say there are no meals on B6. Yes, there are no hot meals with a tray and a piece of overcooked chicken, etc. as used to be the norm on the legacies. But B6 has a generous snack selection and you can actually eat a fair amount of calories if you so choose. Secondly, most legacies don't serve hot meals in coach any more either and CO, which still does at certain hours, provides you with about a minimal a meal as you could imagine.

Flying B6 on a long flight means bringing your own meal, which I much prefer to the kind of slops coach passengers have always been served by the airlines in coach. This way I'm eating exactly the meal that I want, a meal that I find superior to the best FC meal (because I picked it based on my tastes).

No worldwide flight program. You're right. But at least, with TrueBlue, it is possible to redeem reward travel quite easily. This summer, I traveled to California with my family and all four tickets were reward tickets. We were able to get our first choices on both the outbound and return legs. Try that on OnePass. Also, unlike the legacy ff programs, TrueBlue has only one standard redemption level which means you don't have to spend twice the points/miles to get a reward ticket. The last time I attempted to send my family out to California on a OnePass reward ticket, we could only find "EasyPass" seats which would have meant spending 200,000 miles.

Inexperienced crews. As jetBlue NYFL points out, that's simply a silly comment. Are there any 30-year veterans at B6? Of course not. But there are a lot of very experienced people who've worked at other airlines who are now at jetBlue. And the crews are genuinely friendly and helpful, which--sadly--is not always the case at some of the legacies.

Personally, I went from Continental, where going 0 for 25 on upgrades meant flying its miserably uncomfortable coach, to B6 and I could not be happier. I now always fly in a very comfortable seat, so much so that there is no need for FC. I have also saved a lot of money because last-minute tickets on B6 are far less expensive than on the legacies.

I still fly Continental and the SkyTeam Alliance because I do a fair amount of international travel. So B6 has become my domestic airline of choice while CO and SkyTeam are my international travel team.

Finally, you write that jetBlue is a discount airline. Sure it is. And that's one of the great things about it. You can travel in "premium coach" at very affordable fares (although not always literally the least expensive). That's seems like a pretty good deal to me. Of course, if you're Daddy Warbucks and you have a lot of money to throw around to fly FC, you probably won't be picking jetBlue.

B6 isn't going after the "Daddy Warbucks" market segment, that's all.

JetBlue is what it is, and if it's not right for you, it just isn't.

JetBlueFA

That may be changing soon

Jerseyguy

Please tell me its not going to be what airlines usually do for BOB, which is offering some "gourmet" type food that which tastes aweful because the carrier has spent $4 on it. Please Jetblue nothing with a Balsamic infusion