JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty was spotted onboard a flight from Boston to Fort Lauderdale doing “Seat Bingo,” giving away free tickets. The video is going viral, but best I can tell it’s recycled, though I did not see it the first time around in March of last year.
Three passengers won: seats 21D, 16E, and 10E. Two were in E middle seats, so Geraghty jokes “the middles have it today.”
Before initial descent, I’ll come back up here. We’ll play something called Seat Bingo, and three lucky customers will win a free ticket on JetBlue. So sit back, relax, enjoy the JetBlue experience down in Fort Lauderdale, and thanks again for flying.
Okay, so we’re going to do our free-ticket giveaway. We do something up here called Seat Bingo. I have a random number picker, and I’m going to pick a letter and a number. Whoever is in that seat — so if I pick A and 25, 25A would be the winner — that person’s going to win a free ticket on JetBlue, anywhere we go.
A couple quick rules. If you’re flying non-revenue — so if you’re another airline crew member or one of ours — you’re not eligible, sorry. And if you switched seats with somebody, it’s the person seated in the seat — so not the boarding pass, but whoever’s in that seat — who would win. We’re not going to have any boarding-pass battles at 30,000 feet.
She’s actually done this on other flights, too. In December 2024 flying New York LaGuardia to Orlando three passengers won free tickets, and she joked about a last-row middle seat being “the most desirable seat on the aircraft” because it was “right in front of the bathroom.”
And it’s kind of a JetBlue thing. Previous CEO Robin Hayes was reported doing similar contests giving away free tickets via seat bingo, returning to his economy seat, and helping collect trash. And there’s even a suggestion that former CEO Dave Barger did this as well.
JetBlue is still pretty good in the air, a bit of a mess on the ground, and this doesn’t fix what ails the airline but I still like it quite a lot. So I’m glad that this video is making the rounds again, since I missed it the first time. But whenever I see something going viral I can’t trust my memory alone for whether it’s truly ‘new’.
These types of stunts are cheap and customer-friendly. They love the chance to win something. It doesn’t have to be a free flight; passengers would be thrilled with a free upgrade (immediate, as in the first class seat is waiting for you now), luggage fees refunded, or even a meal. Yes, they need to get their ground issues resolved, but you can say that about any number of airlines. It is the type of thing that the old SWA flights would have done. Every airline trying to draw in passengers should be doing this (and yes, I’m looking at you American.)
More like this. As @Ron notes, the relative cost is minimal and the goodwill it creates — for all passengers on that flight and a good number of others who see the video — is well worth it.
Try treating your customers like something more than a cash machine.
What can JetBlue fix? I can assure you if ATC fixed themsleves, JetBlue could make money. JetBlue profits come out the tailpipe of JetEngines doing circles and S Turns around New York
I still really like jetBlue, and I don’t care who knows it! Generous legroom in economy, live TV, free WiFi, and everything Mint is excellent. That they actually care about passengers and occasionally do nice things, even better. Although I didn’t partake, I think that 25 for 25 promotion was pretty cool. And, soon enough, I wanna try that Blue House lounge at JFK T5. Turn it around and remain an independent carrier, please!
My wife won Seat Bingo with Robin Hayes on a flight to Havana In 2017! He asked if I was traveling with her, I said I was, he laughed and said “so you’ll be buying a ticket then!”
We used the free ticket plus a mileage ticket to go to Cartagena the following year.
JetBlue is my airline for domestic flights.