Crisis at JFK! The new JetBlue terminal will not--repeat, will not--open on October 1!
While the carrier insists that construction is on schedule, a spokeswoman tells the Associated Press:
The operational opening was delayed to give [our] Marketplace vendors more time to complete necessary work.
Hey, we like fully operational wine-and-tapas bars as much as the next guy, but we're definitely not happy that we'll have to wait until October 22 to check 'em out.
Our ever-stylish correspondent JetSetCD was on-hand for JetBlue's ribbon cutting bash yesterday...
Yesterday's shindig out at JetBlue's new Terminal 5 was no boring, corporate ribbon-cutting, nossir it was not. Instead, the carrier threw a straight-up block party to celebrate more than just a new address; the festivities and congratulations all centered on JetBlue's employees, many of whom turned out to spend half the day cavorting in their future workplace.
Getting business out of the way with a packed-to-the-gills press conference at 2 pm, where JetBlue founder (and current Azul airline mogul) David Neeleman entered to an immediate standing ovation, the day slowly progressed into pure fun with a performance by Estelle and free booze.
JetBlue's new Terminal 5 may not be open to the public yet, but there seem to be approximately 17 billion people on hand for the ribbon cutting today, as seen in this video starring CEO Dave Barger.
In the crowd are David Neeleman (just in from Brazil?), New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and The Rockettes.
Also on view at the new terminal are some fancy seats from Lufthansa, which owns 19 percent of JetBlue. And our spy on the scene says they're serving "T5-tinis," which sounds nice!
JetBlue is hosting a day-long "ceremonial opening" of its new T5 at JFK today, but the media--including our correspondent--aren't supposed to show up until about 2 pm.
But if you have to know what's happening at T5 right this second, you can tune into JetBlue's official blog about the terminal, which already has a few of posts from corporate PR and marketing people hyping the day's festivities.
Later today, the carrier promises:
Ribbon cutting with world-famous New York City dance troupe [and a] performance by [a] popular singer with one of this summer's Top 10 hits.
One thing to remember: T5 doesn't actually open to passengers until October 1.
It was a beautiful day for a fake flight: The sky was blue, the sun was bright and the Airtrain was quickly depositing 1,000 people onto JetBlue's new turf behind Eero Saarinen's iconic TWA Terminal at JFK.
Saturday's event, the JetBlue T5 Trial Run, involved groups of New York-area TrueBlue members (us), JetBlue family and press who would put the terminal through the paces without actually flying anyone anywhere.
Last week when we received the email confirming our place in Group A--scheduled to start the first run-through at 9 am--our stomach sank at the thought of having to be out on the A train to JFK in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. But to the airport we went!
We're still waiting for our sneak preview of JetBlue's new Terminal 5 at JFK, but a video tour just released by the restaurant group handling all the dining has us salivating.
Top on our list of must-visits is the cavern-like Piquillo, a tapas spot with a massive bar and a great looking design. From the looks of things, we wouldn't mind popping into Aeronuova or JFK Steak nearby, either. The most outlandish design is at Deep Blue Sushi, pictured, which reminds us a bit of that overwrought fusion place from the beginning of "Garden State."
We can't embed the video, but you can find it here.
But while there were specifics on a couple places, further details on the dining options were fuzzy. That is, until we were handed a JetBlue-authored list of every restaurant, bar and to-go place that would populate the terminal when it opens later this fall.
Actors have previews, football players have scrimmages and JFK's Terminal 5 is having a "trial run" on August 23rd. But unlike on Broadway or at Alvin Ailey, you can be a part of this trial run if you got JetBlue's latest love letter, which went out to some of its TrueBlue frequent flier members, one of which was good enough to post the invite and his thoughts.
The airline seeks 1,000 warm bodies to play passengers, proceeding through check-in and security and hanging out at the gates. Participation also includes free lunch, which is more than you can get as a paying passenger on a flight!
You have to fill out a special form to participate--anyone want to forward us the fun? The rest of the invitation, after the jump.
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by pbb
