JetBlue will cut legroom, charge for checked bags

[Malvina]

JetBlue said it would pare back the space between seats -- known in the industry as seat pitch -- by 1.6 inches to 33.1 inches. This will allow the company to add 15 seats to much of its fleet.

It will also change the way it prices tickets by introducing three tiers. The lowest level will not allow customers to check baggage, while the higher tiers offer one or two checked bags. Currently, it allows flyers to check one bag for free and charges for additional checked bags.

 

[PWMTrav]

Yup, I decided to write a post on this after participating in the discussion on FT. I'm not exactly positive on the move, as a customer or as an investor.

 

[AnotherGradStudent]

I've been hearing my parents complain about this for a bit now, and its rather unfortunate - JetBlue was one of the last airlines to do as they did (reasonable seat pitch for someone over 5'5", checked bags, in-flight snacks and the like). They're saying they'll switch to Virgin 'cause my mom remembers VX being a similar transcon experience... I don't have the heart to point out that the pitch and baggage policies there are the same as the "new" JetBlue.

Maybe now at least they'll stop using their ancient JetBlue CC for all their purchases 'for the valuable points!' and switch to a program worth the effort.

Any likelihood fares will at least drop with the drop in quality? I somehow suspect not, but, one can be hopeful.

 

[misterbwong]

Any likelihood fares will at least drop with the drop in quality? I somehow suspect not, but, one can be hopeful.

Slim to none They want to be like the big boys and pump revenues by taking away benefits.

From an investor standpoint, I honestly can't blame them. The ancillary revenue that they will see from this move will be huge. You have to remember that airlines don't actually make a lot from just flying passengers. My guess is that they would lose fliers but gain enough profit to more than make up for the loss. It's because all the airlines have been charging for these "extras" that they can now call themselves profitable.

 

[AnotherGradStudent]

Slim to none They want to be like the big boys and pump revenues by taking away benefits.

From an investor standpoint, I honestly can't blame them. The ancillary revenue that they will see from this move will be huge. You have to remember that airlines don't actually make a lot from just flying passengers. My guess is that they would lose fliers but gain enough profit to more than make up for the loss. It's because all the airlines have been charging for these "extras" that they can now call themselves profitable.

Makes me wonder, though, if there's sufficient interest to open up a market for 'more-than-just-a-sardine-tin-in-a-sky' airline, even if 'buying' all the benefits back (checked bags, legroom via E+, etc) is monetarily equivalent. But, eh, at least there's free Wi-Fi on a good portion of their fleet (until its out of beta) so not all is lost. Yet.

 

[druiddation]

Wasn't sure whether to start a new thread or add to this one, but wanted to add data points. I don't fly jetblue that often but asked for a status match several months ago. They never replied and I forgot about it. Then a couple weeks ago they emailed me a second chance. At first I was offended since I never received a reply to their first chance. The status match came with a condition of 2 round-trips or 4 one-ways. Mosaic status isn't that great but I liked the idea of no change or cancellation fees.

They had a sale on JAX-FLL for $32 each way so I did 2 round-trips on consecutive days(and told different family members I was flying down to meet them for lunch). The fine print said Mosaic status would be awarded 6-8 weeks after completion but I received the email 4 days after the last flight. The 15,000 bonus miles for meeting mosaic also posted then (I wasn't sure if they would since it was a challenge).