November 19, 2014
A note from Robin Hayes
Since JetBlue’s first flight, we’ve never sat still. Our airline has morphed over the years in response to dramatic changes in our industry and the shifting needs of our Customers. We’ve added products like Even More , Mint, Fly-Fi, and grown our network internationally while providing a better experience at a great value.
Today we’re announcing a couple major initiatives for the future that will continue to evolve our product so we can maintain our competitive edge and deliver for our customers, our crewmembers, and our shareholders. One thing that’s not changing is our culture of service and our commitment to our customers.
Branded Fares – Beginning in the first half of 2015, customers will be able to choose between three fare bundle options that provide new choices and allow travelers to tailor each trip to their preferences. The first fare bundle will be designed for those customers who don’t traditionally check a bag; the latter two will offer one and two free checked bags, respectively, along with other attractive benefits, like additional TrueBlue points and increased flexibility. These new options will allow us to tailor our offerings to individual customers in a way that is simple and transparent. You will hear a lot more about the features of this plan over the next several months. We want to be sure customers understand how this approach works for them when we roll it out officially in mid-2015.
Cabin Refresh – Our customers love the look and feel of our new Airbus A321 jets. In fact, this aircraft is rated significantly higher than other aircraft in our satisfaction surveys. Beginning in mid-2016 we’ll retrofit our A320 aircraft – which are the workhorse of our fleet – with the same lighter and more comfortable seats found on our A321 along with the improved 100+ channels of DirecTV on beautiful 10” widescreen displays. These modern seats will enable us to increase the total number of seats on our planes – which helps us continue our low fare commitment – while still offering the most legroom in coach by a significant margin. The entire aircraft will be upgraded with power ports accessible at every seat along with new lighting, new lavatories, and more.
seatsThe JetBlue experience will keep getting better. In fact, we are very excited to announce today that customers can keep enjoying free access to Fly-Fi – the industry’s fastest connectivity product – thanks to new partnerships with Time Inc., Verizon, and the Wall Street Journal. All of our 140 Airbus A320/A321 jets are expected to have Fly-Fi by the first half of 2015, with EMBRAER 190 installations beginning thereafter. Another game-changing product, Mint — our refreshing new take on a premium experience –has been extremely well received on flights from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. By the end of the first quarter all flights to both cities will feature Mint.
Robin Hayes
President, JetBlue Airways
