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.
JetSuiteX offers scheduled flights on a handful of routes from Burbank, California to nearby Concord, Las Vegas, Oakland, San Jose, and (seasonally) Mammoth. The big difference from your standard airline is that JetSuiteX flies small jets outfitted for corporate travel. Its Embraer 135s boast 30 seats, each with a 36-inch seat pitch.
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The convenience factor is that JetSuiteX uses fixed-base operators—the folks who provide ground service to corporate jets—rather than commercial terminals, plus it boasts upscale cabin service, freedom from most annoying airline fees, and other service features that private jets can provide.
But don’t expect a low price for the luxury. On routes where JetSuiteX competes with regular airlines, its fares are at least double. Presumably, the fare premium will be acceptable for travelers who really want to avoid the hassles of regular-airline travel. Operating out of Concord is an interesting plan: It allows residents of some high-income East Bay areas to avoid the daunting traffic they face in getting to nearby Oakland, San Francisco, or San Jose.
The codeshare with JetBlue could be a bit of a poser, though: Codesharing is supposed to be “seamless,” but the issue of having to schlep to a JetBlue terminal to make a connection seems like it would be pretty substantial.
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JetSuiteX is an offshoot of JetSuite, a corporate jet charter. Other similar operations include MagellanJets and Surf Air, both of which currently feature membership plans that provide unlimited trips (for a very stiff fee). They’re certainly not for the Spirit crowd.
But as commercial travel becomes more and more of a hassle, and as airlines keep piling on the fees, the JetSuiteX semi-private plane business model looks increasingly attractive to some.
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Consumer 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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Lots of us are choosing to holiday with friends rather than family. According to a survey by Expedia of 24,000 adults across 17 countries, 65% of people planning to travel in the next 36 months will be doing so with friends. Holidaying with your mates is great fun – but the sudden change from casual socialising to spending 24/7 together can be challenging. Here’s how to navigate some common sources of stress – and ensure you’re all still speaking to each other when you get home.
I was one of three adults who led a backpacking trip to the Colorado Rockies this past June with six teenage Boy Scouts from Troop 876 of Savannah, Ga. After seven nights camping, our tenth night — June 26 — was to be aboard a redeye to Kennedy Airport, followed by a morning flight to Savannah, both on JetBlue Airways. But our Denver departure was delayed over two hours and we missed the connection. We waited for three hours in line, only to politely be told the next flight available was five days later, even after we offered to fly to Atlanta, Charleston, S.C., or Jacksonville, Fla., instead. JetBlue would not provide a hotel. So we opted for a refund (plus $12 meal vouchers), rented two cars and drove 14 hours home, racking up about $1,200 in travel expenses. But when our refunds from JetBlue came through, they totaled $261 for nine of us, only 18 percent of the original cost. A customer service representative later explained to me by phone that we had been reimbursed for only the New York to Savannah leg. We believe JetBlue should have gotten us on an earlier flight on a different airline or at least reimbursed us for the nine fares and fees totaling $1,458, and perhaps chipped in for the expenses to get home. Can you help?
With the high probability of Virgin America’s being folded into Alaska Airlines within the next two years, Virgin loyalists are in the market for an alternative. And JetBlue wants to be that alternative.
The last day in August marks the unofficial end of summer, and now also a historic day for U.S.-Cuba relations. JetBlue announced last month that it would be the first to send a passenger plane to Cuba in 2016, and at 10:58 a.m. today, fulfilled this promise.
I’m not a fan of flash sales or flash promotions. I understand the motivation from the travel suppliers’ standpoint, but snooze-you-lose offers are manipulative and disrespectful.
Somebody had to be first. And when it comes to the relaunch of scheduled flights between the U.S. and Cuba, following the normalization of relations between the two countries after more than 50 years, it appears that JetBlue is set to snag those bragging rights.
I’m not a fan of flash sales. If a company discounts its product or otherwise adds value to a purchase, then it should allow sufficient time for the offer to be widely communicated, considered, and acted on. “Snooze you lose” has always struck me as disrespectful and a bit nasty.
Although the proliferation of revenue-based programs and dynamic award pricing is changing the game in fundamental ways, the availability of award seats remains one of the key factors in determining the real-world value of any airline loyalty program. It would seem, then, that a definitive comparison of award-seat availability among the various airline programs would be a natural. The best program is the most rewarding program, no?