JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq:JBLU), the low-fare, low-cost airline with the most flights to the Caribbean, today announces it will add new service this winter to two more island destinations: St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. The award-winning airline will offer one daily nonstop flight between Puerto Plata and New York/JFK effective January 10, 2008, and one daily nonstop flight between St. Maarten and New York/JFK effective January 17, 2008*

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Labels: JetBlue, St. Maarten

"Unless you count the trail mix, you can't get a free meal on a domestic flight with a major carrier anymore. A bottle of water will cost you, and forget about a movie.

Why the skimpy offerings?

Cost-conscious mainstream airlines are trimming the fat, otherwise known as amenities, to provide the lowest fares possible. But as the flagships slim down, the category of low-cost carriers is rapidly beefing up, giving passengers the option of flying both comfortably and affordably.

Low-cost carriers tend to keep their prices down by flying out of fringe airports, relying on online booking and providing just the necessary level of onboard services. Many stock their fleets with one type of aircraft to minimize the amount of training for crews. As part of the discount category, the airlines also can operate without union agreements and employment contracts that often trouble legacy carriers.

A Growing Category

Starting out in 1971 as a small carrier in Texas with only three jets, Southwest Airlines is credited with giving birth to the low-cost-carrier phenomenon. Its founding mission was to fly passengers to short-haul destinations, on time and for the lowest fare possible. Nearly 36 years later, countless carriers have copied the philosophy.

Global flight information company OAG released a 2006 report identifying 40 low-cost carriers in Europe alone. It also revealed that Ryanair, a low-cost heavyweight based in Ireland, was carrying more passengers per month than British Airways.

And the number of passengers interested in booking with low-cost names is on the rise. The low-cost sector accounted for 16%, or 416,000, of the 2.6 million flights scheduled for July 2007, according to OAG's Quarterly Airline Traffic Statistics. Last month, 309.7 million seats were offered worldwide, of which 20%, or 61.9 million, were on low-cost carriers. In July 2006, low-cost seats made up only 16% of the 289.8 million airline seats on offer.

"There seem to be new low-cost [carriers] appearing every week," says Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, a London-based air transport research company. Simply being low-cost doesn't guarantee success, however. "Each year that goes by you see anywhere from four to eight new low-costs that can't keep the business model running and disappear after 12 months."

The Best of the Best

For its annual survey of the best low-cost airlines in the world, Skytrax examined commercial and front-line factors, surveying the accessibility and quality of Web sites--crucial for carriers that rely on online booking--and, perhaps most important, the clarity of prices and fares.

Because standards vary around the world and there are so many low-cost carriers, Skytrax named a global top three-- Jetstar Airways, Air Berlin and easyJet--and broke down the remaining results by region. Southwest Airlines, the carrier that started it all, ranked second in North America, falling behind JetBlue.

To assess what people are getting for their money, Skytrax also took into account consumer surveys. While some low-cost carriers offer complimentary entertainment like satellite television and snacks, as on Austrian-based NIKI, many grant passengers only a seat, a reading light and a smile.

The low-cost category remains the most competitive in Europe but is growing fastest in Asia, if for no other reason than that it has the biggest market. At the other end of the spectrum, South America and the Middle East emerged with only two top carriers each in the rankings, rather than three. Both regions have several other carriers, but they were deemed too small for inclusion.

New Options

As the low-cost sector continues to heat up, so do the options in terms of seating and routes. While many traditional carriers offer one class, Jetstar offers a StarClass premium cabin, while Oasis Hong Kong gives passengers a choice between Business and Economy.

The introduction of classes in low-cost travel is the result of carriers taking on longer-haul flights. While flights under two hours are most profitable, as more travelers look to fly farther afield, these airlines want a piece of the action. Oasis Hong Kong already flies from Hong Kong to London and may offer flights to the U.S. shortly.

So if you can travel substantial distances for paltry prices aboard a low-cost carrier, why opt for a big name airline?

"[People] might choose them because of the miles or because the major carrier can come pretty close to matching the low-cost carrier in price," says Tom Michelson, vice president of operations for Airtreks, a team of travel consultants and experts that provide multistop international air travel service and technology. "Given the choice between the two, the traveler might want to go with the known entity."

But with low-cost carriers such as JetBlue providing complimentary, 24-channel, live satellite TV on every seat back, the unknown is looking better every day." [Via finance.yahoo.com ]

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Labels: Airlines, JetBlue, low cost airlines

"Beginning Jan. 1, airlines operating at New York airports will be required to provide passengers who are delayed on planes for three hours with water, snacks, and working toilets under the first law of its kind in the nation, which was signed Wednesday night by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

But an organization representing major airlines, the Washington, D.C.-based Air Transport Association, said yesterday it may file a lawsuit to block the new law, dubbed the Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights. A spokesman said the is "disappointed" in the law and thatlegislating such services is not practical.

The law creates an Office of Airline Consumer Advocate within the state Consumer Protection Board. The advocate will refer any violations to the state attorney general's office, which can seek a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per passenger per violation by an airline.

The law grew out of widespread passenger complaints after huge delays during the winter at some airlines, including JetBlue Airways Corp. of Forest Hills and American Airlines, the world's largest carrier. JetBlue stranded thousands at Kennedy Airport on Valentine's Day after a snow and ice storm blanketed the East Coast.

Federal law restricts what states can do when it comes to air travel, specifically prohibiting states from requiring that passengers be allowed to get off airliners delayed on the ground for hours. But states can require airlines to provide amenities for air travelers, according to the bill's two sponsors -- state Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick) and Assemb. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria). Fuschillo is chairman of the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection.

"Anytime something is done that makes big business unhappy, their first response is to go to court and challenge it," said Gianaris. "I'm very confident the new law in New York State is legally sound and will withstand any challenges from the industry."
Fuschillo said he was delighted the legislation was signed into law. "Consumers pay a lot of money to fly," he said. "They should be treated with a lot better respect than they have been."

David Castleveter, the ATA spokesman, insisted the New York State law is pre-empted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. Under deregulation, Castleveter said, government cannot regulate fares or service. "We're reviewing our options, including the possibility of a legal challenge," he said." [Via Newsday.com]

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A JetBlue Airlines Nightmare Story

Labels: Airlines, JetBlue, Spitzer

The fact is that these smaller upstart airlines like JetBlue, Air Tran, Spirit, etc have taken away business from the major airlines. They've done it by competing with new planes, better service, different entertainment, and some times better fares. Sometimes things go terribly wrong-read what happened to this JetBlue customer.

Here is a letter from one of our readers about JetBlue:

Let me start off by saying I was a huge JetBlue fan and supporter that is until the night of (Feb15-16)

This was by far the worst JetBlue experience I have ever had from start to finish.

First my JetBlue flight was canceled (3PM las-jfk Wed. Feb15- Next the flight I was put on was supposed to leave a 12:30am (FLT# 190 las-jfk) the website and phone system said it was on time.

I arrived at the Las Vegas airport at 11pm on Thurs (Feb15) to discover that I was completely mislead. It turned out FLT#190 was delayed 6 hours. I had to wait and wound up passing out on the airport floor from exhaustion. At 4:30 AM now (Feb. 16) I was put on what I was told was going to be a "JetBlue" flight and that my luggage would arrive with my flight as well.

Then I find out its a charter plane from a company called Omni which is probably one of the worst planes I have been on with non JetBlue employees as the attendants. with the luggage coming 2hours later on another plane.
I spent over $400 for one way to fly the JetBlue experience and nothing less - that's not what I got.

Because of the misinformation I lost a whole day of work and a nights sleep. The charter plane got me into JFK at 1:30PM Fri. I missed an important business meeting that I had to be at on Friday AM - losing thousands of dollars in sales.
Needless to say my loved ones were confused as the JetBlue web site said the 1240am flight was cancelled, then taking off at 6AM

Even though as a new airline They don't participate in Rule 240.(with rules about what to be done in a case like this)

No effort was made to see if a seat could of been found on another airline going back to New York City- which was the least that could of been done. Then to top it all off my luggage didn't come on another plane 2 hours later as was promised to be delivered on Friday- I got it Monday at 1PM.

Saturday AM and early PM I was on the phone for hours as JetBlue's special baggage line (866--- ----) rang 3-4 times and went to dead air and on a second phone calling 800 JetBlue and could not get through.

After having my luggage missing for the 2nd day with no clean clothes to go to a wedding celebration I tried calling JetBlue to get permission to buy clothes I needed for a wedding and toiletries and health and beauty aids. Not being able to get to talk to somebody I did what other airlines allow I had to go out to buy clothes and health and beauty aids I needed

When I finally got my baggage from the flight on Monday I find missing my black pinstripe suit from Barney's New York that cost $975

the following are the monies I asked to be paid back to me by JetBlue

$ for clothes to be used for 2 events on Saturday since luggage was missing $301.41
$ for health and beauty aids needed since luggage was missing $ 75.61
$ missing men's suit from luggage upon delivery $975.00
$ back for Wed.-Thurs flight screw ups (las-jfk) $400.00
---------------
Total $ 1.752.02

Truly Blue,
A JetBlue customer

P.S.- After many calls, certified letter, still more calls to JetBlue etc, etc - they finally gave back money for flight, clothes, and lost item in luggage, but it wasn't easy.

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Thanks to our reader JB for sending us your story

Labels: air travel, JetBlue, travel rights