One of the reasons I was so excited about attending the regional conference in New Yorkwas the opportunity to fly JetBlue the much ballyhooed low cost airline giving Southwest Airlines a run for it’s money.
If you read this blog regularly, you know that I am a big fanof SWA because of their commitment to deliver high value at a low cost. So, how did JetBlue stack up against Southwest?
Pricing-I found JetBlue’s one way pricing to be confusing and ultimately more expensive. Because they fly into JFK in New York rather than a less popular airport, the flight was no cheaper than the standard full service carrier. SWA is still the master at finding smaller boutique airports near popular cities (think Midway for Chicago or Providence for Boston) enabling them to keep prices lower than their competitors.
Advantage: SWA
Check-in/Boarding passes-Although JetBlue assigns actual seats versus boarding in groups a la SWA they do not allow you to check in for your boarding pass on line if you have checked luggage. This means you have to arrive earlier to the airport and even with advance seat assignments, I found myself sitting in the middle seat on a fully booked flight.
Advantage: SWA
In Flight Entertainment-Every JetBlue seat has it’s own complementary inflight entertainment consisting of current television programming as well as pay per view movies. Even though I had brought a book and my i-Pod for entertainment, I found myself watching TV for most of the flight.
Advantage: JetBlue
Employees-JetBlue’s employees are very polite, efficient and get the job done. Several times I saw an attendant help a passenger stow their luggage in the overhead compartment; something you will never see on the full service carriers. Despite this, I missed the camaraderie and fun I always experience on a SWA flight. This is purely a subjective choice as some people would find that very same behavior to be annoying and juvenile.
Advantage: SWA
Overall, I give JetBlue high marks for going beyond conventional carriers but they still have a way to go if they want to beat the grandfather of the low cost carriers SWA.
