Tag Archives for jetblue.
American Airlines has new partnerships coming online with JetBlue and Alaska Airlines. Normally we think of these sorts of partnerships as reducing competition, but there are two ways this will increase competition.
JetBlue was on a cost-cutting trajectory going into the pandemic. They haven’t eliminated change fees the way other U.S. airlines have on non-Basic Economy fares. But they’re having to turn to their loyalty program to drive bookings.
And they’ve announced several changes that make it easier to earn elite status, and more valuable to do so. They’re introducing lower qualification thresholds, several months of a companion pass, and new bonuses.
The two airlines submitted copies of their agreement to the Department of Transportation for review on July 22, 2020. The review requirement isn’t just for codeshares and frequent flyer program tie ups as announced but also for “long-term wet leases involving a substantial number of aircraft” – a wet lease provides not just planes but also crew.
Last week a passenger in a Burger King crown got booted off a JetBlue flight to New York JFK – and banned from the airline – after a racist rant prior to departure from Kingston, Jamaica. It all began when there wasn’t overhead bin space available for him to use.
The man tried to get up in the air again to head back to the States. He got kicked off an American flight on his next attempt to depart Jamaica. There aren’t that many airlines left. At some point could he have no options left but to swim?
Barclays is offering 100,000 points as an initial bonus for the $99 annual fee JetBlue Plus Card. The offer is also available for the $99 annual fee JetBlue Business Card.
You’ll generally get 1 to 1.6 cents per point in value redeeming for JetBlue flights. Mint (business class) flights will skew towards the lower end. I value a JetBlue point at around 1.25 cents apiece, so a 100,000 point offer means $1250 worth of travel, or $1151 net of each card’s annual fee.
JetBlue’s face mask policy says anyone who cannot wear a mask “should postpone travel until this temporary requirement is no longer in place.” And JetBlue has now enforced their policy against a two year old on a flight from Orlando to Newark.
An executive at another airline who managed a UV cleaning procurement process tells me they evaluated GermFalcon and found it “too fragile,” that it didn’t live up to its claims, and that the actual device is too unwieldly, JetBlue “will never get to use it on turns” the way they’re promoting.
This new American Airlines-JetBlue partnership paints a path forward for American Airlines to grow and compete in New York, one of the key elements that has been missing from its strategy, including from its co-brand credit card strategy. It has the potential to make American Airlines more relevant to cardmembers in the financially-important New York market, just as the Alaska Airlines partnership can help in the Bay Area and Seattle where tech money is significant. Whether or not this succeeds comes down to execution and whether the partnerships grow to their potential.
American Airlines is going to start handing out masks to passengers on some flights. Several airlines are requiring flight attendants to wear masks.
And now JetBlue is becoming the first U.S. airline to require it of passengers starting May 4. Masks provide some measure of protection for other passengers in the event the wearer is asymptomatic but spreading the virus.
The airline bailout provided cash to continue to pay employees. They aren’t allowed to involuntarily lay off employees or reduce rates of pay through September 30. However one U.S. airline found a workaround: requiring unpaid time off. That way they keep the money to protect shareholders at the expense of employees.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
