I Still Love Jet Blue, But ..

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I Still Love Jet Blue, But ..

I wrote a post several years ago titled 'I Love Jet Blue' (no link because I'm blogging from my phone).

In that post I talked about how Jet Blue gives me what I want (leg room in the back, free wifi at the gate, easy kiosk checkin, a choice of food in the terminal) and not what I don't want.

They still do all that but it's clear they've overexpanded. It's 7am on a sturday morning at JFK and the Jet Blue terminal is mobbed. People sleeping everywhere. Congestion in the walkways and retail locations.

It's been this way every time I've been here in the past year. It wears on you.

I sure hope the new terminal gets done quickly because at least in NYC, Jet Blue has gotten too big for its britches.

Comments (6) | Posted June 9, 2007 in Blogging On The Road

Comments

Air travel has become so unpleasant I'm booking fewer trips and spending more time at home. I'd rather drive to Boston from Lancaster and plan stops along the way then get in a tin can packed to the gills with other people, get delayed on the tarmac for 2 hours (last Friday) and end up shellshocked and sick by the end of the trip.

I still love Jet Blue though. Looking forward to a worthy competitor that does it right, or at least service in Harrisburg!

Posted by: Charlie Crystle | Jun 9, 2007 9:38:34 AM

Just took jetblue to SF and back from JFK. Our flight left out of their new terminal/wing that is undergoing construction and as compensation they're giving out free wifi. I'd rather have free coffee though.

Flying back, we were delayed 2 1/2 hours as our plane coming in from Boston with a stop along the way took off late due to rain. Sucks when your 9:30pm redeye doesn't depart until after midnight. At least there's legroom!

Posted by: Yaacov | Jun 9, 2007 12:12:55 PM

I was on a 9pm JBLU flight from JFK to SFO last night. It pushed back at midnight, took off at 2am and landed at 5:15am. Reverse redeye. While waiting to board, I was using the wifi to listen to the live stream of JFK's tower and ground control frequencies (http://www.liveatc.net/feedindex.php, search for JFK). Those ground controllers have a very difficult job - there are so many flights out of JFK now that the airport can't handle it, and then so many planes back up that there is no where for them to even go. Total mayhem. I'm afraid that a new terminal won't really help to relieve the problems in the terminal since the real problem is out on the runway - JFK doesn't have the capacity to handle the traffic. Maybe they should install those sleeping tubes that they have in Japan so people don't have to sleep on the floor.

Posted by: Chris Neumann | Jun 9, 2007 1:37:27 PM

I think there was a lot of weather on Friday in the midwest and that messed everyone up. I suspect yesterday morning was carry over for that.

I'm in and out of JFK on JetBlue every week or so. I think the problem is more JFK late at night than anything JB has control over. They've got so many transatlantic flights trying to get off. Those flights are near the edge of their range and the don't want to have them burn to much fuel on the ground.

I flew from JFK to PWM last night. We boarded 15 minutes late. We backed away 15 minutes late. We were then in line for takeoff for 90 minutes. This is for a 45 minute flight.

But you're right, they have totally outgrown the terminal, that annex via bus is annoying and I can't wait until they get the new terminal finished.

Posted by: Erik Schwartz | Jun 10, 2007 9:38:23 AM

I've been flying JetBlue from SEA to JFK since they opened the route, and it's still my favorite way to get to NYC.

I'm an odd duck in that I like red-eye's, as I usually sleep fine, and I feel like I'm wasting less time. Price-wise, it used to be significantly cheaper than anyone else for a nonstop flight, but now the price is in par with the others. Still, it's usually a more enjoyable experience... And they now offer 2 flights daily to Seattle, if red-eye isn't your thing.

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Posted by: aizheng | Jun 16, 2007 5:29:21 AM

A VC

Musings of a VC in NYC