Not too long ago, we were full up with stories about airlineseyeingColombia. But that was back before the carriers were hemorrhaging money on jet fuel. So after battling with the Department of Transportation to get access to the country, airlines are now putting off their commitments to Colombia.
A group of airlines (not JetBlue) filed to request a two-year moratorium for starting service awarded for government regulated routes. JetBlue filed a motion generally supporting the filing after the fact.
We believe that the unprecedented rise in fuel costs has presented conditions that warrant a level of leeway from strict interpretation of some governmental requirements. Our motion is not tied to any one specific route.
That said, JetBlue hasn't committed to a start date for MCO-BOG service. Instead, the carrier will stay focused on the Caribbean, where it's taking over for American Airlines as the legacy carrier pulls out of San Juan. No wonder JetBlue has just announced a new Spanish-language website.
If only we could use it to book flights to Bogotá!
Not long ago, American Airlinesdecided to cut back service to San Juan and by extension the rest of the Caribbean. Almost immediately, JetBlue decided to scoop up some of that extra capacity. Now AirTran wants a piece of the action, too.
The LCC will add a seasonal flight this winter from Baltimore, and additional flights from Orlando and Atlanta will also go on the schedule.
American was pretty much screwed either way, deciding between raising fares--and losing customers--to pay for jet fuel or losing money while maintaining a schedule that would keep smaller, low cost airlines like JetBlue and AirTran out of its market. We'd feel bad for AA, except, well, you remember what happened this April.
A packed JetBlue plane flying from New York to San Francisco had to make an emergency landing after a woman flipped out and allegedly punched a flight attendant. The passenger, 35-year-old Christina Szele of Queens, flew into a rage after a member of the crew asked her to put out a cigarette she lit up mid-flight. Szele, a white woman, began cursing and screaming racial epithets at an African-American flight attendant after he plucked the cigarette from her mouth, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
After her outburst, Szele was placed in restraints, but she managed to escape her plastic handcuffs and punch the flight attendant in the face. That's when pilots decided to bring the plane down in Denver in order to throw Szele off the flight.
Now the angry Queens nicotine fiend faces federal charges and up to 20 years in jail. Note to Szele: Cigarettes are pretty tough to come by in prison!
Bob Crandall may not work for American Airlines anymore, but he's still an industry guru and when he talks, people in the air travel business listen. This week, Crandall made a speech at a trade meeting suggesting that the answer to the airlines' recent spate of money troubles might be a return to government regulation. Oversight would likely be a death knell for the popular cut rate carriers like JetBlue and Southwest.
If, as Crandall proposes, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 were to be reversed, carriers would have to charge fixed fares and reduce the total numbers of flights on individual routes. Regulation would reduce delays and eliminate the need for extra fees, all while improving customer service.
The plan clearly has its drawbacks, but it's hard to argue with Crandall's overall point that the industry's projected $6.1 billion loss this year proves that changes need to be made. Though government oversight might mean higher fares and fewer flights, at least we won't have to pay $2 for a Coke, right?
In May, Virgin America started throwing parties on certain flights, calling the aerial happy hours "Superfly Wednesdays." And as it happens, we just got an email about an upcoming VA party at Tao at the Venetian. But it looks like another carrier isn't content to let Virgin have all the after-flight fun.
JetBlue just posted a message to Twitter reminding passengers about its own party in Sin City, a little something the airline's calling "JetVegas." (It's happening at Bare at the Mirage.)
The event, scheduled for June 13-14, promises to be brotastic, co-sponsored as it is by Thrillist. If one more airline hosts an after party in Vegas, it'll be a verified trend. Just off the top of our heads, we're thinking "Southwest Stripper Night" could be a hit.
Now that American Airlines is pulling back flights to the Caribbean, JetBlue is expanding its service to Puerto Rico. The low cost carrier is spinning the new flights to San Juan as part of its "commitment to the island," but this is obviously a cutthroat business decision to get AA's newly abandoned customers.
Not that we have a problem with that. American is more than halving its service to San Juan, making it harder to get to PR, and if JetBlue didn't step in, airfares would likely soar.
B6 isn't the only carrier swooping in to pick up capacity given up by another carrier. Southwest is slowly taking over Denver International as Frontier circles the drain.
We were a little underwhelmed when JetBlue unveiled its in-flight WiFi last December. Available on a single aircraft, the service only let you check email via Yahoo Mail or BlackBerry or chat with friends via Yahoo Messenger. Hardly a killer app.
But starting today, you'll be able to check your accounts at Gmail, AOL, Hotmail and Windows Live Mail, too. If your office uses Microsoft Exchange, you'll also be able to check in with the boss. And JetBlue has also partnered with Amazon.com, in case your online shopping can't wait until you've landed.
You still won't be able to fully surf the web, but at least the service will still be free. When American Airlines finally gets its WiFi flying, you'll be paying at least $10 per segment to connect.
By now, you've undoubtedly heard about Gokhan Mutlu, who's suing JetBlue because the airline allegedly forced him to sit on the toilet for an hour and a half during a California-New York flight.
If not, here's the quick version of the story: Mutlu had a voucher from a JetBlue employee which got him the last available seat on a flight February 16. He claims that after a flight attendant complained about her jump seat, the pilot bumped Mutlu from his seat--and into the lav. "Go hang out in the bathroom," the pilot supposedly told him; he's asking for $2 million for his troubles.
We think there's more to this story, but here's the one thing we really want to know: Shouldn't the other passengers on the flight be the ones suing? After all, they were the ones denied access to the bathroom! We're not begging to spend a whole flight trapped in a smelly, drafty, teeny lavatory, but at least we wouldn't have to hold it the whole flight.
