1083 reviews and 711 photos of JETBLUE AIRWAYS "I gots to give JetBlue the props they deserve. While it's fashionable to rank on airlines because of delays (and when are we not delayed most times at an airport?), I think one needs to look past what is unavoidable and talk about what makes a good airline experience.
My recent trip to Nassau experience was as follows:
1. Cost: The price was right, $350 including taxes and fuel charges, round trip, non-stop. Beat that with a stick. There was one non-stop fare better on Delta, and it was out of LGA, but I wonder if I'd still be sitting on the tarmac a week later had I taken that flight instead. LGA sucks.
2. Ease of booking: Their website makes it fairly easy to book. There are a few navigational issues on the site that I would correct, but overall, the web experience was good. Book your ticket, pick your seats, voilá.
3. JFK: Now, I know that it's almost required to bitch about this airport, but quite frankly, I think from the dark, ghetto days of ten years ago, JFK has made dramatic improvements. People like to pretend it's so far out in the boonies, when in reality, it's really not that far. Without traffic (and fer chrissakes plan your flights during non-rush hour times if you can help it, sheesh) it is just over 20 minutes from my front door by car. Given that we're in the largest city in the country, this is pretty outstanding. Yes, it sucks when the traffic is bad, but so does going four blocks in midtown Manhattan, and we don't slag the entire borough for that, now do we? And if we do, well, MOVE TO NEW JERSEY AND DON'T COME BACK ON THE WEEKEND AND POLLUTE OUR BARS. Thanks.
They have steadily been improving JFK with new terminals, retrofitting old ones, and at least attempting to make it easier to access. If I have one pet peeve, it's that there's no direct access to JFK from midtown directly, you have to take a subway to the monorail or a bus. THAT, my friends, is lame. If you want to complain about something, complain about that, and blame it on stupid Giuliani, who is busy tooting his horn about being "the man" in a crisis, but wanted to put Yankee Stadium on the west side and couldn't get a deal done to directly link our major airport to downtown. Thanks for nothing. YES, I AM RANTING.
3. Terminal 5: I think it's possible there could be a nicer terminal, but I'm really not sure how. Given the size of the terminal, the number of flights in and out, the gates are very accessible. It is also stocked with excellent vendors. Screw Cinnabon and McDonalds, they have Jamba Juice. No better way to start the morning.
4. Check-in: was really a snap, even given that I had an international flight.They got my bags checked and things moved fast (and for a dive trip, I'm carrying a lot of luggage). First bag (under 50 pounds) is free. I realize that even having to give the idea of a "free bag" props is weird, given that the industry standard for years was the first two bags under 70 pounds were free, but this is the state of things. Second bag is $20 bucks. Completely reasonable in this day and age. Third bag starts to get steep at $75. For dive trips I'm usually toting 150 pounds of stuff with me, so I care about this. The night before my trip, I'm generally putting my bags on a scale and moving pairs of socks from bag to bag to keep under the weight limits. I carry four carry-ons to get around the weight restrictions and they generally never hassle me.
5. Boarding: was on time. But ya know, sometimes airlines can't help but be late. They're subject to all the other crap that's happening at another airport that delays a plane, like weather, stupidity or gross weaselicissitude. YES, I said it.
6. Flight: Smooth and airy. Fast and delicious. OH, and BONUS: No water landing!
7. In-flight amenities: While their snacks are good, the portions kinda suck. This is where a star comes off. Give me a decent bag of chips, wouldja? Not the "fun" size. This isn't Halloween. On a side note, I never understood the canceling of meals on flights. If I can buy a sandwich on a plane for five bucks, how about they just add that onto the ticket price and WE ALL EAT. Jeezus.
Post flight: They sent me a survey asking about all of the above. They even asked if the greetings I was offered by the flight crew were satisfactory. Now that's service.
I'd recommend JetBlue, even if only for the new Terminal at JFK. You can buy an iPod in a vending machine there. Ha."
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