There were so many things I was looking forward to about my trip to Boston from London in early April.
27.07.2023 - 18:16 / smartertravel.com / Ed Perkins
What’s the worst airline out there? The Wall Street Journal’s Airline Scorecard just made a surprising claim, ranking JetBlue as the country’s worst airline while Delta ranked first.
The Journal’s ranking was based on seven statistical measures: On-time arrivals, canceled flights, extreme delays, two-hour tarmac delays, mishandled baggage, involuntary bumping, and number of DOT complaints.
Related:The Airline with the Most Legroom Is This Little-Known CarrierThese are essentially the same inputs used by the annual Airline Quality Rating (AQR) prepared by researchers at Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, but the results might be shocking to the many who swear by JetBlue. Our sister site Seatguru.com and other air rankings, on the other hand, have long dubbed JetBlue the best hard product among domestic lines, largely based on legroom.
JetBlue’s minimum legroom, at 32-34 inches in coach, beats most of its competition, as does legroom in the economy-stretched Even More Room seats, at 37 or more inches. Seat width aboard JetBlue’s fleet of A-320 family jets beats that of competitors that use 737 family jets. In the front cabins of some longer routes, JetBlue’s Mint service gets mostly favorable reviews as well.
Related:What Flying JetBlue Mint Is Really LikeSo, when you’re choosing a flight, which means more to you—a slightly greater chance of a delay or mishap, or a measurably better seat? Comment below.
More from SmarterTravel: 6 Big Questions for Travel in 2018 The 10 Countries Where Your Spending Money Lasts Longest Why JetBlue Mint Is More Than Just Lie-Flat SeatsConsumer advocate Ed Perkins has been writing about travel for more than three decades. The founding editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, he continues to inform travelers and fight consumer abuses every day at SmarterTravel.
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There were so many things I was looking forward to about my trip to Boston from London in early April.
Score two for the airlines, nil for consumers.
Who will be the next president of the United States, if the airlines had their way?
There’s no shortage of new airlines servicing North America right now: Norwegian, WOW, Primera, XL Airways, Level, Flair, and Joon have recently sprung up or expanded. But none of these new carriers is based in the U.S.
According to research from Germany-based Cruisewatch: “Booking the respective cruise destination at the right time can realistically save you up to 71 percent reductions off your cruise.”
The Choice Privileges program has distinguished itself in recent years on both the upside and the downside.
The average payback for six major hotel chain loyalty programs—the value of what the points will buy, compared to what you pay to earn the points—is near 9 percent. That’s substantially higher than the return from the big three airline programs, which fetch about 4 to 6 percent. Those figures come from IdeaWorks’ 2017 CarTrawler Hotel Reward Payback Survey. Among hotel programs, Wyndham’s payback is highest, at 16.7 percent.
According to a report in the Post-Gazette, people who live in the Pittsburgh area can now load up at those wonderful “Airmall” shops airside at Pittsburgh airport without having to fly anywhere. A new pilot “myPITpass” program allows people without tickets to go airside, as long as they show the usual ID and go through the usual TSA screening, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays.
Last year when Italy’s Cinque Terre decided to limit the amount of tourists that visit each year, overtourism once again came to the forefront of many people’s travel plans. While other popular landmarks and cities also had tourist caps or were exploring crowd-limiting options, iconic Cinque Terre’s cap has gained a lot of attention, and is part of a rising trend.
JetBlue’s announcement of a new codesharing deal with semi-private plane carrier JetSuiteX highlights the behind-the-scenes growth of a new class of airline—corporate travel.
Airline trade sources are reporting that the founder of JetBlue, David Neeleman, is getting ready to launch a new low-cost domestic airline. Neeleman is by far the world’s most proficient and successful airline-starter. The proposed airline, originally named Moxy (which is likely to change), will reportedly fly 60 Bombardier C300 jets on routes connecting secondary airports near major U.S. cities. The service could begin as early as 2020.
Add the new AAdvantage MileUp Card from Citibank to the (very) short list of no-fee credit cards that earn airline miles. It offers one American Airlines mile per dollar charged, plus double miles for purchases at grocery stores or with American Airlines.