Having never heard of JetBlue before I was a little unsure of what to expect. This airline was offering a suitable price, departure time and a direct flight and with another two flights to follow this one, we wanted to avoid a stopover from New York to Los Angeles. Aware that like most airlines flying within the US, this was not a full service airline, I read some reviews and was pleasantly surprised with what I found. 

Airline and Flight #

jetBlue |jetBlue Airways 1323

Aircraft 

Airbus A321

Departing Airport and Terminal

John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, Queens, New York | Terminal 5

Scheduled Departure Date and Time

Friday 18th May 2018 | 3:27pm

Flying Time

6 hours 24 minutes

Luggage Allowance

Checked Luggage

jetBlue offer three different fare types and under the basic one the first piece of checked luggage under 157.48cm (62 inches) and 22.68kg (50lb) costs USD$25 and USD$35 for the second bag.  Each subsequent bag cost USD$100 each.  For bags over this size and weight, an additional fee will apply.

Carry-on Luggage

Passengers are allowed one personal item such as a purse, laptop, briefcase etc and one carry-on bag which must not exceed 17″ L (43.2 cm) x 13″ W (33 cm) x 8″ H (20.32 cm), including wheels/handles.

Fun Facts

• jetBlue offers the most leg room in Economy compared with any other US airline
• jetBlue has a good range of complimentary snacks and soft-drinks on board
• the airline was originally going to be called Taxi with yellow livery to represent NY taxis
• jetBlue have their headquarters in Long Island City, New York
• The airline allows small pets including dogs and cats to travel inside the cabin with you

Website

jetBlue https://www.jetblue.com/has one of the most comprehensive, easy to use and informative website’s I’ve come across for an airline.  Virtually anything you could possibly want to know from how to get to the airport to what shops and eateries you’ll find at Terminal 5 is all covered.

Check-in

• For International flights, a valid passport is required and it is good to check with the country you’re flying with as some countries require the passport to be valid up to six months after you return to the US,  Check-in (including baggage) must be done at the ticket counter at least 60 minutes prior to departure time.  Passengers must be on-board the aircraft no less than 20 minutes prior to departure.
• For Domestic flights, you must have your passport if you are not from the US or Canada, otherwise you require a US federal or state issued photo ID such as a driver’s licence or US passport.  For a complete list of acceptable ID see the following website at https://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/webcgi.exe?St=185,E=0000044034240294150,K=665,Sxi=13,Case=obj(3074).  Luggage must be checked at least 40 minutes prior to departure (30 minutes if no checked in luggage) and passengers must be on board the aircraft no less than 15 minutes prior to departure.  Check-in can be done in one of three ways:
  1. Kiosks – these are available at all airports and allow you to check-in, check bags and print your boarding pass.  Curbside check-in is available at JFK airport in New York allowing you to check-in without having to go to the ticket counter and drop your luggage off outside. The cost is $3 per checked bag and the machines don’t take cash.
  2. On-line – you can check-in online using jetBlue’s website https://www.jetblue.com/. Select “My Trips” up the top and then “Check In”.  You will be asked to enter your name, departure airport and one of three choices of ID, being confirmation code, flight number or TrueBlue number.  Boarding passes will be available from 24 hours prior to departure time.
  3. Ticket Counter – check-in can also be conducted at the ticket counter inside the airport.
• We initially went to check-in at the first check-in kiosks we saw but there were no free seats together in coach (Economy) and we didn’t want to pay extra  so decided to check-in at the ticket counter.  The main one was quite busy so we were ushered over to the help desk and that was where the lovely lady behind the counter upgraded us to Even More Space class so we could both sit together.

Seating 

• jetBlue’s A321 is a narrow bodied jet with a 3×3 configuration except for Business class.   The aircraft has 159 seats divided into 14 Mint Business class seats all with flat beds and , 4 Suites, 41 Even More Space seats, and 102 Coach (Economy) seats. We were seated in row 10 of 29 as we had been lucky enough to be upgraded to Even More Space so we could sit together.
• As expected for a low cost carrier, there were no blankets, pillows or headsets on the seats although staff did come around offering these products for a reasonable fee.  The seats were made of leather and had adjustable head rests and armrests.  There was padding over the seat-belts which I haven’t seen before and later found out they contained an airbag due to the fact there was so much room between us and the seat in front.  The airbag would lessen the whiplash effect in the event of an accident.
• Seat pitch in Even More Space was 37-41 inches (94-104 cm), seat width was 18 inches (46 cm).  We couldn’t believe all the leg room we had and only wished we could have the same on our long haul flight from LA to Sydney.
• Trays weren’t folding but with all the leg room it didn’t matter.

Cabin Comfort

Even in Coach (Economy), the leg room is generous so having even more leg room in Even More Space class contributed to a very comfortable flight.  Having an unlimited supply of complimentary non-alcoholic drinks and a choice of snacks also kept our tummies happy.  The fact you had to purchase a blanket didn’t bother me as I don’t use the complimentary airline blankets anyway knowing they often don’t get washed.

In-flight Entertainment

Electronic Devices

Personal electronic devices can be used throughout all parts of the flight, gate to gate.  Devices should be put into flight mode prior to take-off however and until landing.

Power

Under each seat in Even More Space and Coach (Economy) are single 110V USB power ports whilst the headphone socket is located at the tip of the armrest.

Reading Material

Inside the front pocket is the safety information booklet and a booklet containing information on snacks, where jetBlue flies to and additional information such as prices for blankets, pillows and ear buds.

WiFi

jetBlue provides free high speed WiFi on all their planes across the US.  FlyFi from Amazon allows passengers to surf, stream and shop from their seats.

Entertainment System

Each seat is installed with 10 inch touch screens with the option of a remote control pad to use in the armrest.  There are 100+ channels of Sirius XM radio and 36 channels of DIRECTV.  For all flights longer than 2 hours there are a range of new release movies for viewing.  The touch screens aren’t overly responsive and there is a touch pad remote in the arm of the seat.

Catering

Menus

jetBlue offers a menu called EATUP Cafe, displaying a bright and colourful salad on it’s cover.  Inside is a fairly limited range of healthy food options and their price along with a selection of beverages and snacks.  Non-alcoholic drinks were complimentary as were the snacks and drinks from the snack bar.

Food/Drinks

About an hour into the flight cabin staff came around selling blankets, ear buds, pillows and food from the menu.  The fruit and cheese platter I wanted wasn’t available so we settled for a Chipotle turkey sandwich which came served with a tub of avocado and a knife to spread it onto the Chipotle.  It was very tasty.  About half an hour later more drinks came around followed by packets of chips and biscuits also available from the snack bar.

Restrooms

There were two restrooms at the rear of the aircraft and one further up.  These were quite small but were kept in good condition throughout the flight.

Service

The cabin crew were friendly and appeared happy to be working for jetBlue.  And for a low cost carrier in the US, the complimentary snacks and drinks on offer were most appreciated.

Pros

• Definitely all the leg room.  The most I’ve had on any airline
• The complimentary drinks and snacks
• The price was better than a lot of other airlines
• Being upgraded to Even More Space
• The flight started taxiing on time – but then there was a big queue of planes in front which wasn’t jetBlue’s fault.
• There were a good range of direct flights from New York to Los Angeles

Cons

• Having to pay for things like meals, ear buds, blankets and pillows
• The restrooms were very small
• The touch screens weren’t very responsive
• Not having my meal choice when there already wasn’t a big range to choose from

Conclusion

I would definitely recommend jetBlue as an airline to fly with.  The extra legroom, even in Coach (Economy) made a huge difference to the comfort of the flight.  Although it’s always nice to have all meals included, this was a low cost carrier and there were plenty of free snacks and drinks on offer.  Cabin crew were friendly