I got the same form e-mail too and wrote two e-mails back to them informing them that the standard canned response did not address any of my concerns and that they obviously did not even read my e-mail. It was quite disappointing as I have always gotten a thoughtful response in the past.

That said, the flight from SFO to AUS had a great flight attendant and as the second flight between the two cities was enjoyable. The return was average and they certainly did not go out of their way to welcome people onto the new service as the morning crew did. Had a nice visit to Whole Foods though...at least there is still one company left in this country which I can still admire.

Hopefully management will see the errors of their ways with the change fees. The $100 change fee certainly didn't help Frontier. It didn't seem to help the legacy carriers either.

Airlines would like to have the ability to use fare sales/promotions to stimulate new bookings as opposed to passengers re-booking existing reservations at a lower fare. The new, higher change fees that seem to be industry wide, greatly reduces the ability of passengers to protect themselves against higher fares while at the same time giving them the ability to get credit if the fares go down.

Some passengers should consider trip insurance.

I wouldn't be surprised if SW follows. Perhaps SW could have a change fee for DING fares.

The real problem with this, as I see it, is that B6 made certain promises and created expectations when it was first coming up that it couldn't keep. It's not the fee that bothers us so much, I don't think. It's that B6 promised to be different. The fee in isolation is not a problem. What is a problem, however, is the series of nickel and dime measures that B6 has implemented following the legacy carriers. B6 is no longer different and is becoming increasingly similar to the legacies.

That, I think, is the real problem. Thoughts?

I agree that B6 is fast becoming the thing that the legacies are made of. Not only are there changes but they seem to be coming on a weekly basis thus lowering expectations. One result of this is that people who book solely on Jet Blue.com may now be more and more tempted to go to Orbitz or Expedia etc. and will find that B6 may not be the best value at that time. Couple that with the decrease in the ammenities that was supposed to make B6 different and you have taken away the core reasons why we fly Jet Blue.

It's a race to the bottom, friends...

There are still differences between B6 and the Legacies.

Most of them are good:
Legroom
TVs

Some Bad:
No interlining
Terrible Rewards Program

But it seems that the list of positives gets smaller and smaller... while the bad list stays the same.

I dunno, to me B6 is a legacy with a slightly better product with a lower return in rewards and a big middle finger when things go wrong.

It really is too bad. It's was fun while it lasted.

Some posters on another website report Jet Blue is still assessing a $40 change fee (not the new $100 fee) against any credit due to a "re booking" to advantage of a lower fare.

Does anyone know if $40 is still being assessed in that circumstance or if those posters were able to take advantage of an unofficial "grace period"?

I haven't read through the new policy but it can be one of two things.

1) The new policy hasn't gone into effect yet.

or

2) The fine print on the itinerary that was purchased prior to the change may grandfather that trip into the $40 category.

I'm guessing this is the case. When you purchase a ticket the change fee is part of the ticket rules, so the change fee will be from the old ticket at $40, not the new fee.

That's what I assumed. But, we all know what happens when one assumes...

Some good news...
 

Just called C.S. to question the honoring of a lower fare after purchase, and the answer from them is that they are NO longer charging $40 OR the new $100 to honor a lower fare after purchase!!! So, at least it's back to the good old days with that...

Also, noticed the phone booking fee went up to $15, not a big increase and does not affect us FTers who tend to book on the web.

I really find these "phone booking" fees to be pretty low-rent. This is not just B6 of course, lots of airlines are doing it. It penalizes older folks who haven't hopped on the whole Intertube thing, some of whom would have no idea how to do so if they wanted to. Those airlines charging these fees are really taking advantage of the "have nots." :td:

I agree it's not fully fair, but just like retail stores offering web-only specials. Senior citizen internet usage has soared over recent years and the upcoming senior citizen group is younger and more computer-savvy. Plus, the senior discounts they receive all over somewhat compensates for such a fee. They can always have friends/family members book for them online to save the fee.

Another fee that they keep increasing is Pets on board. We travel transcon often between JFK and Bur and often need to bring our pet with us.

Started out at $50 each way for a pet. Then they raised it to $75 each way.

Just was told it is now up to $100 each way.

Soon the pet will have a higher fare than us.

If they are going to charge that much, at least give them TrueBlue points.