jetBlue To Add More Legroom On A320's

[x635 4,066]

Cool move for jetBlue!

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/bu...ss/...r=1&oref=slogin

JetBlue Airways, trying to improve its appeal to travelers and cut costs in one move, said yesterday that it planned to remove a row of seats from all 96 of its Airbus 320 planes, giving the front 11 rows 36 inches between seatbacks, instead of the current 32 inches.

Many coach section seats on major airlines have 31 or 32 inches of pitch — the space from one seatback to another — making for cramped quarters, especially for taller travelers.

“If you’re in the 320 and the middle seat’s full, you’re hating life a little bit,” David Neeleman, JetBlue’s chief executive, said in an interview. The aircraft, along with the Boeing 737, is among the most widely used in domestic travel. JetBlue currently has 34 inches of pitch in rows 12 through 25, and that will stay the same.

Reducing seating to 150 seats from 156 will allow JetBlue to fly the Airbus 320 with three flight attendants instead of the current four, Mr. Neeleman said. That, and some fuel savings because the plane will carry less weight, will cut costs by about $6 million a year, even after taking into account some lost sales because of the fewer seats.

Frequent fliers increasingly use Internet sites like www.seatguru.com to find the best or roomiest seats and Mr. Neeleman hopes the increased room will give JetBlue an advantage.

Other airlines “are going to have a hard time matching” the change, he said. “Four inches is a lot.”

The conversion will be done by March 2, JetBlue said.

No flight attendant layoffs are expected, Mr. Neeleman said. Some current attendants will be offered leave with benefits intact, he said, and by the end of 2007 JetBlue’s growth will be adequate to keep all the current flight attendants fully employed.

The carrier plans to add 12 Airbus 320s next year and to increase its fleet of 100-seat Embraer 190s to 33, from the current 23. Seats on the Embraers have a pitch of 32 to 33 inches, and there are no middle seats.

[hudson144 150]

thats great news, I need more leg room when I fly,hate that cramped feeling!!!

[dadbo46 50]

GR8....but.....will the TV still be in focus ??? LOL

Gotta get Jet Blue to the Westchester County Airport. Seems like a perfect spot for the attractive Florida routes: Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando. AirTran is packing them in. A recent flight that I took from MCO to HPN had the flight full...and now a 3rd direct flight is being added to/from Orlando.

Seems like HPN to MCO would be an ideal place to put a few of the new Embraer 190's.

[Guest]

jetBlue at Westchester would be nice, but I think that moving some flights to LaGuardia is all we're going to get from them. The whole philosophy of jetBlue is to keep costs low and fly to the somewhat "less conveniant" airport. Oakland, but not San Francisco and most flights to JFK and not LaGuardia, kinda of deal.

[dadbo46 50]

....so, like....how do you explain Jet Blue from Stewart direct to Florida ?

Southeast Airlines used to do Stewart to Orlando/Sanford (30 miles east of Orlando) but they flopped.