The Customer-Friendly Skies of JetBlue

Photo courtey JetBlue

Earlier this week, in an article about the latest trends in customer service ("Beyond Satisfaction," Oct. 30, 2006, page R4, subscription required) The Wall Street Journal quoted a JetBlue executive describing the company's policy as one of "anticipating the customer's needs." That's certainly true, and it's a lesson other airlines and transportation companies should learn.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from JetBlue advising me that an upcoming flight I'm booked on -- three weeks from now -- has had a minor schedule change, with a new departure time 15 minutes earlier than when I booked it. To be sure I got the message, a customer service representative called last night as well.

I frequently travel JetBlue from Southern California to Washington, D.C. and New York's JFK Airport, and to Oakland. The planes are clean, on time, and the crews have a positive attitude. I happened to ride in a hotel shuttle with a JetBlue crew to OAK recently, and the camaraderie was evident.  There's usually ample legroom, the seats are leather and every seat features a personal LCD monitor with access to 30-plus channels of DirecTV.

A recent business trip took me to four different cities in two weeks, logging over 6,100 air miles on Ted (United's low-cost subsidiary airline) and American Airlines. In contrast to JetBlue, American's planes -- mostly B-737's and MD-80's -- are old, noisy and cramped. The airline provides no snack at all in coach, except for an inedible box of cheese and crackers which they will sell to you for four dollars.

Ted was better: the Airbus A320's were new and comfortable, and the airline offers a $34 upgrade to seats with additional legroom toward the front of the cabin. It's well worth it.

For consistent, customer-focused air travel though, you can't beat JetBlue.