I was oh so wrong about JetBlue

astanley

astanley

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Andrew Stanley
Well. I had pa-poohed the airline for a while, but had never travelled on it and said "you'll pry my AA status from my cold, dead hands". Work circumstances 8 weeks ago required I do a R/T on JBLU.

8 weeks later, I flew my 14th segment with the airline this AM. I acutally like the airline - friendly service, clean airplanes, nicely appointed cabin, nice inflight features, well priced fares, and - get this - they TREAT passengers like humans! On AA, until I made Plat, it was just a "You are lucky we even let you on the plane bub". On JBLU, they are nice, courteous, keep us updated when there are delays/stoppages/issues, and keep the experience focused on getting us to our destination in a reasonably happy manner.

They've earned my domestic business everywhere I go.

Signed,

Former AA (way too) frequent flier.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Wait until they have to actually start paying bills.
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Wait 'til Southwest and Jet Blue say, "Where's ours?" and apply for $billion taxpayers grants.

Oh. You don't get that when you have good management.
 
mikea said:
Wait 'til Southwest and Jet Blue say, "Where's ours?" and apply for $billion taxpayers grants.

Oh. You don't get that when you have good management.
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Has that been a problem at UAL and AMR?

:D
 
It is interesting; I have heard many good things about JetBlue, but (as Greg has so eloquently noted) they did start out with a clean slate, new airplanes , piles of cash and no bills. Their people are not paid particularly well, either. I am fairly confident that JetBlue will not be the next Southwest, at least not financially.

Nonetheless, there is a lot to be said for rewarding people for professional behavior, and by accounts I have received, they treat their pax and each other with respect, not a bad foundation from which to build.

In any event, if they provide good service and reasonable fares, they'll help to improve the marketplace for all of us, and that can't be too bad, can it?
 
Undoubtedly, they have some debt load mounting. But, it's how they manage that debt that will determine their fate. Will they do it the right way or will they seek a bail out like all the majors have done at one time or another?
 
SCCutler said:
It is interesting; I have heard many good things about JetBlue, but (as Greg has so eloquently noted) they did start out with a clean slate, new airplanes , piles of cash and no bills. Their people are not paid particularly well, either. I am fairly confident that JetBlue will not be the next Southwest, at least not financially.
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Well, on the one hand, we probably will not see another Herb K. in the airline industry again, and LUV manages their debt load like no other. JBLU sure looks like a major in terms of revenue to outstanding debt, but, JBLU is still turning $0.02/mile versus the $0.002 that UAUA is turning. Age of fleet is an important consideration, but heavy utilization of leasing amelorates that to some extent.

As the fleet ages, their ability to manage comes more into play. Time will tell (to Greg's comment)

Nonetheless, there is a lot to be said for rewarding people for professional behavior, and by accounts I have received, they treat their pax and each other with respect, not a bad foundation from which to build.

In any event, if they provide good service and reasonable fares, they'll help to improve the marketplace for all of us, and that can't be too bad, can it?
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If anything, they have replaced direct cash compensation with equity compensation, which has both upsides and downsides. They aren't organized yet, which is a distinct plus (from an investors point of view), and I've yet to experience "****ed off pilot" syndrome (you know, complaining to the FAs as you board/deplane about the greivence they just filed, or how their bid failed, or why did XXX get Captain when they didn't? [This may be unique to the extensive amount of flying I did on American Eagle]).

Anyways, they just seem to get it. Comfortable airplane, competitve airfare, good employees, good service and transparency (if anything, they "overcommunicated" during the delays I recently had with them) that I haven't experienced in a long while.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
Welcome to the LCC club.

I'm finding it worth a slight premium to take the direct flight on Southwest vs the American connection through Dallas. Southwest: snack box, a little more legroom, leather seats. American: delays, no food, less comfortable seating (and only about 20% on upgrades).

I sure hope Southwest doesn't decide to go to assigned seating - those who are saavy enough can snag Group A/an aisle seat most of the time. A much better record for me than any of the majors.

Of course if Southwest is > 50% higher fare-wise, I do still look at the alternatives. But a direct flight beats DFW, ORD, or ATL any day of the week.
 
SCCutler said:
In any event, if they provide good service and reasonable fares, they'll help to improve the marketplace for all of us, and that can't be too bad, can it?
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What's REALLY cool about JetBlue, from a pilot's perspective, is their use of electronic flight bags... all their charts, flight manuals, performance charts, etc. are on an electronic tablet-type computer. They really pioneered the practical use of such things for Part 121 flights...

http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/categories/commercial/1066.html
 
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