cbastian

JetBlue to set aside roomier seats for higher-paying customers
By Andrew Compart

JetBlue is working on a plan to reserve some of it roomiest seats for higher-paying passengers after it completes the reconfiguration of all of its A320 aircraft next month.

JetBlue Chairman and CEO David Neeleman said Jan. 30 his airline is ahead of schedule on that reconfiguration, which is removing a row of seats to leave the aircraft with 150 seats in total. The removal should be completed by mid-February, and it will result in 36 inches of pitch for the first 11 rows of seats and 34 inches of pitch for the rest.

JetBlue decided on the seat removal because it calculated the cost savings -- particularly the ability to fly with one less flight attendant under the Federal Aviation Administration's requirement to have one attendant for every 50 seats -- outweigh the lost revenue from having six fewer seats to sell. But the airline also sees some potential to make up some of that lost revenue.

Neeleman said JetBlue management is convinced some of the public's highest-paying travelers don't fly JetBlue today because it doesn't provide a first class section or a way to get the better seats at the last minute. Neeleman said the airline is working on a program to make up for that.

http://www.travelweekly.com/articles...rticleid=54877

JetBlueFA

Take out the middle seat and add a premium cabin...why fight it any longer?

Bobster

That was my reaction also. An earlier thread hinted they might do something like that. They could have had 6 rows of 5, or 3 rows of 3. Instead they chose 11 rows of 2 extra inches. That's not my idea of premium.

precision80

I knew they were heading for this, the writing was on the wall.

Seat13c

It looks like we're now losing the mentality of no second class passangers. Once you take that away, I agree with everyone that B6 might as well put a first/business class cabin. (although, it would be nice to keep a single class cabin where seating doesn't matter).

j3823x

As B6 grows up, its picking up more and more legacy traits which isn't surprising at all. There's too much money left on the table by not catering to those who want more than a seat, television, and a bag of chips.

Maybe B6 will reward its most frequent fliers to these seats at time of booking?

Bobster

Will there be a curtain to separate the sections? Will they stop coach passengers from grabbing empty seats up front? Will premium get exclusive access to the front lavatory?

jmposner

I agree - not my idea of premium - I wonder if they will serve meals or free drinks for such a tix. Still, I will reserve judgement until the price is released.

sfozrhfco

Actually, if you listened to the earnings conference call yesterday, there was no mention of setting up a new cabin or charging extra for particular seats. All that was mentioned is that additional seats in the forward part of the cabin would be blocked so that those buying tickets at the last minute at the highest fares would not be automatically stuck with a middle seat as it is now. It was also mentioned that there are some incentives to be offered for more frequent travellers on JetBlue. No details were officially announced.

FWAAA

Uh-huh. Yeah, that's gonna work.

News Flash, Neeleman: Some of the public's highest paying travelers don't fly B6 today because it doesn't fly to Europe or S America or Asia or other places those highest paying travelers sometimes find themselves going.

Maybe there's a celeb or two (as a group not so concerned with frequent flyer status as the rest of us) who won't mind sitting in B6's version of E+ between NYC and LA. But most of them are well aware of UAL's ps or AA's AFS 3-class service and that's where you'll tend to find them. Sipping champagne and reclining between the coasts. Not eating blue snacks and watching TV in slightly roomier coach.

There's a reason AA still flies 11 3-class 767s a day each way between JFK and LAX. And it's not because AA is trying to attact the backpacking crowd that used to fly Tower Air.

Non-celeb travelers (who are generally much more obsessed with airline frequent flyer status) are gonna forego the mileage and status earning opportunities on their worldwide airline/alliance to fly B6's version of E+ on domestic flights?!? Sure they are. They'll give B6 their transcon business and won't mind at all that they'll now be nobodies when they fly internationally on their former preferred legacy carrier. How/Why will they now be nobodies? Much harder to become top-tier elite when you subtract out all those domestic flights. And when you're not elite, it's a lot harder to get in the First Class (or Business Class) cabin to China or Japan or London or Brasil or . . .

Yeah, that's gonna happen. When pigs fly.

Biggest mistake Neeleman has made is losing his focus on simply making money by doing what B6 does best: Catering to the young and hip as well as those who don't stand a chance of ever becoming elites on the legacies (the infrequent NYC-FLA travelers, for instance).

I can guarantee that legacy airline execs in Chicago and Fort Worth are currently celebrating Neeleman's latest folly.

JetSet78

Don't forget their good friends in Houston. I'm sure they're having a field day.

smmrfld

Completely boneheaded, IMHO. So much for differentiating B6 from the others...any bets when IFE (besides movies) will have a price tag attached?

SkaterJasp

uh, never? They had the chance to charge customers for the DirecTV but never did back when they started.

jetBlueNYFL

First of all, nothing has been "announced."

Second, IFE will remain FREE on ALL jetBlue flights...that's a fact. Only the 3 Fox InFlight movies are for purchase at $5 each and even those are free on Caribbean flights where DirecTV service is not available AND the FA's have access to make that system free as a courtesy on delayed flights (even due to weather or other issues that are not the fault of jetBlue!)

^ Thank you!!! Someone here actually listened to the call closely...there will still be NO classes on jetBlue, just some blocked seats fup front for last minute bookings.



FWAAA, once again your views of Neeleman are thoughtless.

And MOST of the public's average Joe's don't fly the legacy airlines OR HATE flying the legacy airlines due to overpriced, substandard service in economy class which accounts for the vast majority of airline seats in the country.

Bobster

The current configuration has 4 FA's for 156 seats but the seats are only 80% full (that's the story I heard, I apologize if wrong). That's 31 PAX per FA. New configuration with fewer seats but same number of PAX gives 42 PAX per FA.

This complies with FAA rules, but it clearly must sacrifice some safety and service by giving 11 more PAX to each FA.