FREQUENT FLIER | AIRLINES

JetBlue: A first-hand report from an East Coast flight

By Jane Engle, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
12:00 AM PST, March 21, 2004

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This 4-year-old New York-based carrier, with a West Coast hub in Long Beach, has enjoyed a meteoric rise, powered by low fares, roomy leather seats and 24 channels of satellite TV beamed to every seatback. It flies to 23 cities (including Ontario, Calif.) in 11 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.

It also sports a breezy, cheeky style.

When the door to the jetway kept setting off an alarm as I waited for my 7:35 a.m. flight to Boston, the JetBlue gate agent in Orlando made the sign of the cross and remarked, "That was just to make sure you guys were awake."

Directing us to pick up headphones from a box before boarding, he announced, "They're free now. But if you get on the plane, they're $5,000."

By comparison, the crew on our A320 played it straight. But flying was still fun.

My TV monitor worked, with occasional audio glitches. I'd been able to plan my viewing before flying by checking schedules on http://www.jetblue.com. Guides to travel manners ("Be nice"; "Pack your own meal") and "Airplane Yoga, or how to look like a real weirdo to your fellow passengers" were clever.

The downside on my nearly three-hour flight: no magazines and skimpy, albeit free, food offerings. The latter included the airline's reduced-fat "blue" potato chips, party mix and cookies. There was no buy-on-board program. The cabin was a vision in gray; I missed Song's hues.

Nonetheless, JetBlue has a near-fanatic following.

"They're wonderful," said Jen Savage, a passenger from Saco, Maine. "You get your own TV. They have good prices."

Yes they do. My one-way fare was $87.60, lowest in the market when I booked.