How the Market Saw JetBlue’s Flight Delays

by Dave Luna on

Robert Barry, an analyst for Goldman Sachs, predicted that JetBlue Airways’ “profit margin growth will likely surpass most other airlines in 2007.” This prediction came in a report released on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the report didn’t predict the snow and ice delays that would strand numerous passengers on ten JetBlue flights at JFK Airport that very same day.

The company grounded these planes with passengers aboard in case the conditions cleared up enough to allow for take off. The weather didn’t relent, so JetBlue released their captive customers after many hours of waiting. Some of these unlucky travelers were stuck aboard a JetBlue plane for eleven hours. I hope the Fasten Seat Belts sign wasn’t on the entire time.

Stories of the fiasco made their way to the press, but the negative publicity did not harm JetBlue’s stock price as Barry guessed. In fact, shares went up 4.7% that afternoon. An aviation consultant noted that the shares didn’t drop because investors weren’t aboard the flights. He added that consumers would soon forget the debacle, and JetBlue’s low fares would eventually overshadow the event.

JetBlue Celebrates 7th Anniversary With Giveaways

by Willy Volk on

Last year, JetBlue Airways created quite a stir when it announced plans to remove a row of seats from each of its Airbus A320s, giving passengers several more inches of leg room to stretch into.

This week, JetBlue will celebrate its 7th anniversary with daily prize giveaways in its “Seven Year Stretch” instant-win game. Each day, the airline will give away prizes that help people to “stretch out” or relax. For example, prizes include La-Z-Boy recliners, spa certificates, and roundtrip airfare. Unfortunately, I don’t think JetBlue can manage to get you a day off work.

Entering the contest is easy. First, ff you’re not a member of TrueBlue, JetBlue’s customer loyalty program, you need to sign up, which is free and takes about 1 minute. Once you’re a member, you just visit the website, complete the simple entry form, and click the “Enter Me For A Chance To Win” button. If you receive a winning prize message, you’re an instant winner. If you don’t receive a winning message (like me!), then rest easy: there’s always tomorrow. And happily, the prizes keep getting better all week long.

Need Cost Savings? Remove Airplane Seats

by Iva Skoch on

Apparently, there’s an FAA rule that airlines need a certain number of flight attendants per number of seats. So, in a cost-savings move, JetBlue plans to remove 6 seats from each plane, so they can fly with one less attendant per flight.

We certainly can’t complain about an extra 4 inches of leg room that this will result in (for the first 9 rows, at least), but it’s certainly odd that reducing seats and staff could actually assist those of us jammed in those cheap seats.

The savings? 900 pounds (does that include the fired attendant?) and $30 million.

The lesson? Try to sit toward the front of JetBlue planes to take advantage of those extra inches…until they figure out a way to charge for it.

Serious Deals on JetBlue

by Erik Olsen on

I just flew JetBlue to go back and forth to Vegas, and while all the flights
were jam-packed, I still consider them the best airline out there. I needed to make a change to a flight to get out of
Vegas early, and this was on the weekend of CES and the Adult Video Awards, and the had no problem making the change.
And then there is the satellite TV and the free headsets and don’t even get me started on the bags of smoked almonds.
JetBlue rules.

Well, they’re taking this even further, and kicking off 2006 with a sweet sale on most
routes. Called the JetBlue Winter
Clearance, prices start at $39 one-way, and include destinations like the Caribbean, the Northeast, Florida, and
California. The lowest fares they are offering tend to be the routes listed here: Long Beach/Las Vegas,
Washington/Boston, Seattle/Boston, New York/Ft. Myers, Boston/San Juan, Washington/Oakland, and New York/Las Vegas
routes. Think about that for a moment — LA to Vegas for $70?! Gas would cost you more than that.

And, of
course, you can expect many of the airlines to follow suit, so you should see what the JetBlue price is and then do a
kayak search and see what else is happening. For example, Continental is offering a $200 RT fare from Boston to San
Diego. Get down there and cross the border where it’s warm.