Tag Archives for jetblue.
JetBlue crewmembers have been told that the airline will open club lounges at New York JFK and Boston. They’re currently expected to be called Mosaic Clubs.
JetBlue does a really nice job with their onboard soft product. Maybe too nice of a job, considering they don’t seem to be earning a revenue premium on their transatlantic flights.
They’re promoting new meals and amenity kits. The meals seem good enough, the amenity kits interesting (especially with American Airlines handing out cardboard boxes), but what is really striking to me is the wine that they’re hardly even promoting.
During the American Airlines Investor Day on Monday afternoon, an analyst asked whether American would be open to re-starting its partnership with JetBlue. When the government sued to break up the deal, the judge in the case argued that it’s carving up who flies where that was an anti-trust violation. The judge’s decision was clear that a partnership along the lines of how American and Alaska Airlines work together in their ‘West Coast Alliance’ would have been legal.
It seems clear that JetBlue is better off without the distraction and cost of a Spirit Airlines acquisition. They should work on a new American Airlines alliance similar to American’s deal with Alaska, which the anti-trust judge outlined would be permissible (and American in its earnings call said they’d consider a new partnership).
They need to get their operation under control, rebuild service to Boston, shift away from long haul international growth where they’re bleeding, and walk away from Southern California. Or else, expect Carl Icahn to dismantle the carrier and sell it for parts.
Just a few months ago, JetBlue had a big plan for growth. Now they’re shrinking quickly. They offered buy out packages to non-union employees to reduce staff count. And now they’re offering to pay pilots not to fly.
The airline lost anti-trust trials over its partnership with American Airlines and its acquisition of Spirit Airlines (for which it was likely overpaying, and would be taking on significant operational complexity to execute the merger). And its CEO announced his exit.
JetBlue elevated airline President Joanna Geraghty to CEO-designate. Now they’ve made another big move.
A man on board the Airbus A321neo began to exhibit erratic and aggressive behavior towards his travel companion and the flight crew. He was clearly intoxicated, and not from overserving – but from overserving himself with a bottle of liquor he’d brought onto the aircraft.
Four off-duty prison guards and two flight attendants had to subdue the man, which was filmed and shared on social media. One person can be heard yelling “Take him down.”
A 74-year-old retired flight attendant, Angela Siddell, alleges she received a black eye and was handcuffed on a JetBlue flight after a dispute over disposing a tea cup, leading her to file a lawsuit.
JetBlue Airways is looking to shrink its staff, offering voluntary buyout packages employees including managers at headquarters. This represents a huge shift in strategy for the New York-based carrier.
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 »
