As a former Jetblue employee, I believe they need to expand their base in the Midewest adding bases in either Chicago, Milwaukee or St. Louis and fly to locations to Florida and the West Coast ,etc.
@@thestrangeman069 what Chicago airport could they do that ? ORD is controlled by AA and UAl and Midway is by SWa. Better off trying to build a base in MKE which has the room for them.
TH-cam astounds me some days. I've been on here for years and years, and I watch almost exclusively aviation videos, and I've never had one of your videos suggested to me, until today... And now I can't stop watching! How on Earth did TH-cam never recommend this channel to me before today! This is exactly the type of video I love watching 😂.
JetBlue needs to continue adding value for their frequent flyers as well. Unlike their legacy competitors, they have no lounges even though they control an entire building at JFK. They also took a first step with a full codeshare agreement with Qatar but absolutely need one with a European carrier for connecting flights on that side as well, instead of just feeding JFK and Boston for them.
What do you do in a lounge? Sit in a very small crowded space eating free junk food and drinking cheap liquor (worst thing you can do before you fly). I walked into a Centurion lounge with a friend a few weeks ago..we decided the terminal would feel far more spacious at DFW. Food was not really worth eating.
@@GlennFarrow That’s more like what Spirit and Frontier are. JetBlue always had higher quality service than ULCCs with more legroom and entertainment, but saved by having a streamlined fleet, younger crews, and a smaller route network focusing only on a few big markets. They added Mint business class on some routes in the 2010s nearly 15 years after they started.
Lounges would be a nice feature. But there is so much room for improvement with lounges here in the US as compared to other countries that it really isn’t that worth while - unless you “really” need to. Nowadays its been so crowded and doesn’t give the luxury vibes that it once appeal many. Being from Houston and having the ability to go up north via JetBlue was a great experience. Wished it traveled west, but the notion this video gives provides alternate meaningful ways international east.
My one JetBlue experience involved our plane arriving on its inbound flight four hours after we were supposed to arrive at our destination, and literally nothing done to make anyone feel better about it. If that's the best service, I'll walk.
same here 3 hrs late, due to thunder storms at departure and bad inclement weather at arrival, I dont G a F my plane needs to be on time no matter what, we can fly thru any storm, I don't care if we die i want to get on time @@de-fault_de-fault
@@mirzaahmed6589 I still laugh that Spirit only has those because they were too cheap to replace the old first class seats on second hand aircraft they bought.
I flew Mint to LHR on an A321neo a few weeks ago, and it was fantastic. While I used a Move to Mint certificate, an RT Mint ticket was around $1600, very reasonable for business class - and a pretty good experience!
I think JetBlue should try to get some decent routes to Chicago O’Hare before breaking in to Europe. It should get used to dealing with slot issues within its comfort zone before heading to Europe where it will be much harder to find space
Chicago is too competitive. United and American are the big airlines there on the international scene, not to mention Southwest is a domestic player at Midway.
@@TysonIke I’m saying they should get used to fighting competition in places that you can easily find work arounds to rather than just immediately going into like Amsterdam where there are almost no other options for what airport.
The way it should be. Allowing a merger bails out all the execs and investors that ran spirit into the ground. We need to stop letting mergers designed to bailout a crooked business by absorbing the losses from bad decisions. We need to let bankruptcies happen so there are consequences to poor management.
But it depends if the entire company (Spirit) and its assets are sold to another party as a package deal. Sometimes the assets (physical assets) go back to the creditors and they do what they want with them. But JB could capitalize on the routes that would open up as a result if Spirit goes under.
@@HR-wd6cw yes, it won’t be nearly as easy as some people seem to think it will to just buy asset. There will be many parties involved if they do go bankrupt and they may not shut down just restructure.
The irony of this is, this ruling could cause one of these companies to go out of business, which would lead to less competition and higher fares. Exactly the thing the ruling was supposed to prevent.
well, the executives at Spirit don't see to agree with you, that they might go out of business. They claim they're dong great financially, their financial filings don't show them teetering on bankruptcy. Jetblue is not exactly hurting, either. There is a defense in these types of cases, where, if one company is going bankrupt, sometimes you're allowed to buy them up even if it reduces competition, but it's a tough sell. These two companies were _not_ arguing that here. I think they just threaten this thing about "oh, I might go bankrupt!" as a way of shifting blame. It's a very similar game that pharmaceutical companies play, "Oh! If I can't price gouge, then I can't afford to find the cure for cancer!" The idea being, _you_ are the one responsible for this, not _them_ . This ruling cannot cause anyone to go out of business. Business practices cause companies to go out of business.
I don’t think JetBlue would want to have a code share with spirit or frontier. Like you mentioned, they are separate business models. A passenger flying Mint to LHR is not going to be happy flying from DEN-JFK on a Frontier aircraft. I feel they have a decent business model and enough loyal customers to be a major player. They might have to opt for smaller airports like Stansted, Gatwick or Orly… but I’m sure they’ve already thought of that 😎
Flying business class passengers to secondary airports is quite impossible. They expect to get a connection flight from their destination. Who wants to check out the luggage and then drive to the main airport by taxi.
I did Jet Blue Mint from BOS to LGW and returned from HEATHROW to BOS last summer. Loved the enclosed mint seat. Food was great and Free wifi and Satellite TV. Would definitely recommend
Yeah those Mint seats looked nice from BOS to LGW this past Dec. and I snagged an unused amenity kit when I deplaned but for those of us back in steerage a cold wrap for a transatlantic flight kinda turned me off for making me book them transatlantic.
@@rtbrtb_dutchy4183 there was actually a few on the seats that they didn't use, this was at deplaning, not boarding. It wasn't much, just socks, toothbrush, some kind of aroma spray, eyeshield.
Maybe somebody could tell me if I am missing something, but both airlines were unprofitable the past couple years. As JetBlue was borrowing 3.8+ billion in a rising interest rate environment to buy Spirit in an all cash deal, the combined company was going to struggle and likely need to be reorganized in bankruptcy court. (Costly and distracting to a business.) This in part is why JetBlue stock was down over 75% the past three years. PS as you asked in the video: My parents took JetBlue from jfk to San Antonio the other month and seemed happy with the service.
I think jetBlue is kind of happy the deal fell through for this reason and is looking for Spirit to file Chapter 7 to buy their assets at a significant discount versus the acquisition at this point.
@@connorscanlon6289 There was a headline yesterday evening both airlines filed an appeal to try to get the decision overturned. Although I would think the odds are too slim for that to be successful. googling, it was supposed to be like a 470m termination fee Jetblue's on the hook for if the deal was blocked and they abandon the takeover attempt. Some of which was also of course because Jetblue's own takeover attempt surpassed what Frontier was offering for Spirit ~2 years ago when the latter two had announced a merger agreement which Spirit's stockholders rejected. As for me, I'm happy to watch from the sidelines as a spectator.
@@connorscanlon6289 Other airlines will have deeper pockets to buy up Spirit's assets and airports will open up their gates and slots for auction. It was better for JetBlue to pay a premium to buy Spirit vs having to watch their competition grow even bigger
If your stock is down 70% you would be stupid if you tried to buy another companies with a stock swap. There a cash buy on credit makes significantly more sense.
As someone from the deep west of Germany and being really pissed off that my main airport, Düsseldorf, hasn’t got any long haul routes except Dubai and Doha, I think JetBlue has a chance of getting profitable flights from there to NYC, Boston etc. Düsseldorf used to have a lot of long haul connections in the 90s with LTU (even flying to LA at some point) and then AirBerlin, but since they went bust there is nothing there anymore. The same goes for other second tier German airports like Hamburg or Stuttgart and I believe if they flew directly to Marseille or Lyon, they would have a good chance of turning profits, because the 321neos aren’t too big and their low operating costs makes it even easier; but maybe I’m missing something
Nah I think you're onto something. They need to route build like an ULCC or holiday airline but offer good service and nice business class (more for rich vacationers than business men/women). Like you said, with their fleet they are already optimized for long, thin routes to Europe at a lower cost. Idk I see them as being an IcelandAir competitor (cheaper than mainline tickets but good service and comfortable planes).
I think you have a point, there are many relatively large cities (around 1M people metro area) that are completely undeserved with no direct flights to the US. The economics of operating a 200-350-seat wide-body aircraft (or even a 757, if range permitted) probably did not work for these markets, furthermore AF and LH want to feed their hub so, even with the right aircraft for thin routes, they have no incentive to offer direct flights to the US from Hamburg, Lyon, Marseille, Stuttgart or Toulouse. With just 138 seats, the JB A321LR could be a terrific opportunity for JetBlue in these markets: there is enough "local wealth" in these cities to sell their Mint seats with no direct competition, and definitely a wider audience eager to fly direct to NYC, who could fill the rest of the cabin. JB is also one of the few airlines between the US and Europe operating a transatlantic A321LR, this market almost seems like a no-brainer for them, especially if these new routes can feed their domestic ones (again these cities have no direct flights to any other city in the US). On a side note, I find it incredibly ironic that Toulouse, the HQ of Airbus, does not even have a direct flight to the US!
@@CarlNewYorkParis i never really got it with Düsseldorf. With the Ruhrgebiet to the northeast and Cologne and Bonn (there is an airport, but it’s relatively small) to the south there are about 10 million people in the Rhein/Ruhr metro area. NRW is by far Germany’s most populous state so they would definitely get their jets full.
DUS is useless without an EU network to feed passengers into it. Airlines need to sell its business class seats to turn a profit. It isn’t a leisure carrier like TUI or Condor. Frankfurt fills those seats. Berlin and Dusseldorf do not. Not without a European network like LH at MUC.
The JetBlue mint experience was incredible into and out of Amsterdam. I took that flight in October 2023, gracing the luxury of its A321LR in seats 1A & 1F dubbed as Jetblue's Studios. And Seats 7A and 7F (business) on the return flight...simply incredible
The obvious interlining partner for jetBlue is Alaska Airlines, they have almost equal uneven rule over the East and West coasts, respectively, and could position themselves as partners in feeding jetBlue to the East and the Atlantic and Alaska to the West (and potentially with Hawaiian to the Pacific). If I were them I’d look to a large, relatively open airfield near the mean center of the US (PIT jumps out) as a hub for both carriers and broker interlining agreements/combined ticket sales between both to grow each respective network.
I’d welcome both of them with a stronger presence in Denver. They’re both weak here but with expansion plans for gates and runways, we can handle the growth. DIA is an affordable airport and with a United and Frontier hub, strong presence from Southwest and American, more connections can be made easily versus other internal airports.
@@ttopero I think Denver makes a lot of sense for some airlines, but would be difficult for either to make a strong foothold given how busy it already is with massive security lines and huge crowds. The size also starts to make connections difficult versus other airfields
@@cpgoef6 I think this would be another strong option, it just had a major renovation like PIT is constructing right now, and is relatively open for expansion. I think some points that make PIT a bit stronger are that the PIT airfield is larger and more open for expansion, the concourses have a better layout for connections (arranged in a simple, connected “X” pattern), and the airfield is closer to major connections in the Northeast, Midwest, and South of the US (all of which being a 1:30 flight or less) which makes it a better “feeder” connection than an airfield directly in the middle (as in regional connection flights can be shorter and more frequent hopping back and forth than a longer connection to a central hub further away). But KCI did an outstanding job on its renovation and is a great field in general that should see greater traffic given congestion in larger hubs and how nice it has become.
Pan Am's situation was very different than Jetblue's. Pan Am had a ton of debt because it was not suited to the post deregulation world. They had been prevented by law from having domestic service until the 1978 deregulation act which led them into a disastrous and overpriced 1980 merger with National airlines (which buried them even deeper in debt). This was all right after the 1979 energy crisis and several high-profile terrorist attacks. Then in 1988 there was the Lockerbie bombing.
You missed a lot here. Jetblue also wanted to prevent the Spirit - Frontier merger as it would have created a large direct competitor. Now Spirit is looking at a possible bankruptcy which, if it happens, will still eliminate Spirit (so much for helping travelers). Jetblue stock went up on the news of the merger failure and has decided not to appeal the judge's decision (they now want out of the merger deal). Spirit's stock has dropped badly.
It’s not help to block the merger when spirit goes bankrupt and 11k employees lose jobs. Just approve it. That’s what spirit employees and pilots want, they don’t want to be jobless
JetBlue will be the next target of Alaska Air Group after the HA merger is completed. With HA's pacific routes, Alaska's strong presence on the west coast, and then JetBlue's east coast and fledgling TATL aspirations, you end up with a new member of the "Big 3" club. The only thing that might screw that up is being in OneWorld, and big dAAdy may not like new competition on home turf.
I flew jetblue from Orlando to Sacramento via JFK. Even though I flew economy, I really liked jetblue. The seats were nice, the in-flight entertainment was good with alot of selection, and it had good leg room. I will definitely fly with them again. I think their only weakness is the lack of western flights. Which is hard to get. I'd like to see them fly to hawaii. Maybe enter a partnership with hawaiian or Alaska or something. Eitherway, good airline
Mint is an excellent offering. Jet Blue is my long time favorite airline. I am a Boston based traveler frequenting destinations up and down the east coast so it fits me well and I love the product. I hope they can grow and stay relevant
You missed a big point, the deal is not over yet, because they can appeal. Spirit airline is financially struggling, they are highly thinking about a bankruptcy, after relooking at the stocks and shares of Spirit airline, the deal might get a green-light during the appeal. There is only 2 options for spirit airline bankruptcy or merger. Which one is better?
Appeals in these cases generally do not go through. It has more to do with an unfair advantage potentially within the market than the financial status of either company. My guess is that companies like Frontier would complain if they allowed the deal to go through, among other low-cost carriers that are lesser known.
The competition on transatlantic routes into London, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt might be too much. But there are a number of underserved destinations like Berlin, Antwerp, Copenhagen, Dublin, Beauvais-Tillé Airport which could be profitable if JetBlue formed and alliance with a European Low Budget Airline like Ryanair or Easy Jet. Such an alliance would make destinations in Eastern Europe accessible. It’s not lack of options. It’s lack of imagination.
There might be some truth to this. Thinking outside the box is good. United is even flying to Tenerife. Except if all these European airports were such good choices, major US carriers would already have a much larger presence.
It's worth noting that the deal can be restructured, and it would also be essential to note that the agreement in its current form is the one that was blocked. The ruling clarified that they could try again with a restructured deal if the so choose.
I don't think Spirit/Jetblue can possibly conceive of a deal which would be legal. As a legal expert on antitrust put it, the ruling reads like "an almost stream-of-consciousness discussion of an airline merger from a judge uncomfortable with blocking something he knew was against the law." It includes sections of lyrics and poems, it's rambling, and it's not particularly coherent. The facts in this case were very cut and dry: the 'alliance' (it's a type of merger, I'm just going to call it a merger) would be bad for the industry and harm competition. If we look at the history of mergers in the US over the last 45 years, we see, the mergers ultimately cut routes, reduce capacity, and raise prices... despite assurances that they won't. This has happened literally every merger, without fail, in US airlines, for the last 45 years. Spirit/Jetblue documents and emails seemed to indicate, the people steering the merger were perfectly aware of this, and in fact, the whole goal of the merger was to reduce industry capacity. The plan was, once Spirit/Jetblue could reduce capacity, they could then raise prices. This is actually illegal, under antitrust law, but Spirit/Jetblue were confident the feds and courts would just let it slide, like they always have. The judge, IMO, was conflicted because for the past 45 years, these mergers would have just sailed by without comment. The judge had to square the case, where, Spirit/Jetblue was so obviously anticompetitive, but that would imply these past airline mergers were anticompetitive, too. No judge wants to stick their neck out and be the first one to reverse course, which is the why case involved all these tortured twists and turns.
JetBlue is starting routes to where I’m moving which is Edinburgh. I’m gonna go on them if they’re still around in 1.3 years. (Nearest is Gatwick rn and I’m a student pilot)
You can't serve high demand constrained slots with small A321 planes! Either get bigger planes (which should fill themselves - cause high demand route) or get slots at less premium airports.
I just flew BOS to LGW in Dec. on that A-321NEO, while having it be sparsely filled which allowed me a row to myself (as did many others) the plane doesn't have ovens. Nothing said thanks for spending $700+ dollars for a round trip ticket, 7 hour ride across the pond like being handed a cold chicken salad wrap. My go to from BOS stopped doing business here (Norwegian Air Shuttle 787's) Next trip over I'll make sure I check the equipment better, they were however the only ones who flew non-stop to the airport I'm comfortable getting in and out of. Next time I'll consider LHR and skip jetblue but hey...free pantry right?
From a network perspective the merger I want to see is JetBlue and Alaska/Hawaiian. You take two (three?) largely regional players in the US and merge them into a fifth major network carrier (besides AA UA DL WN) which would have global reach - JetBlue goes Transatlantic while Hawaiian flies widebodies to Japan. Fleet integration would be tough but is not insurmountable - three of the other four major US players play with both Boeing and Airbus products at the same time. In a world where mergers usually create less competition, taking that regional player on any given route and turning into a global player with the network that can chase corporate clients and loyalty from people who need lots of destinations is huge.
Consumers should feel relief that the government blocked an airline merger, and now one of the two airlines faces a serious change of bankruptcy / liquidation as a result? Something tells me if Spirit goes belly up that means less competition. Tell me how I'm wrong.
As a frequent JetBlue flyer I can agree 100% and I've noticed that any JetBlue flight between 6pm and 6 am gets extremely delayed the most I've gotten delayed on a JetBlue flight it over 11 hours and i couldn't leave the airport I recently just flew JetBlue on a flight from PBI West palm beach to Boston and we were supposed to depart at 7:20 pm and get there at 10:40 and I ended up leaving at 11:00pm
Well, I must say that I'm looking forward to the new video, especially the SVF (Spontaneous Ventilation Facility) on the 777X and whether it works as well as on that Alaska 737 Max.
In terms of landing slots secondary airports might be an option, except ground transportation becomes an issue that customers might not want to deal with. If bus connections to city centers were bundled in with the fare/itinerary some customers might be more willing to fly into these airports that are not subject to the same overcrowding, long walks and delays as what we have now.
I would love to see them focus in customer satisfaction rather than the lowest cost possible. If the price is slightly higher as a result hopefully the customer will be able to understand the extra price is well worth it.
JetBlue is now using its A321neo aircraft that were originally supposed to fly domestically and to South America on JFK-DUB, BOS-DUB, JFK-EDI and BOS-LHR routes. They’re saving the LRs for JFK-LHR, JFK-AMS, JFK-CDG and JFK-LGW routes as they’re farther or more premium. The neos don’t have a galley that can heat food for economy, so those routes get cold meals only. They also have fewer Mint seats than the LRs.
I know this is something of a niche desire, but if JetBlue offered flights from anywhere on the east coast to London Gatwick, I'd absolutely be a major customer. I'm a Brit living in Ohio, originally from Sussex; flights to Gatwick drop me off a half-hour train ride from home, while Heathrow is an absolute slog to get to.
Problem is JetBlue wants to position itself and has been marketing itself as an alternative to the big American 3 airlines. Going to Gatwick is not without its risk to that positioning. The business class traveler and mint program would suffered when majority would like to fly into the main airport in London and not secondary airports.
And if B6 is in a position to pick up their assets when they do, that would be almost as good as (if not better than) the merger, because they can pick and choose which assets they actually want, and leave the east coast assets they don't need on the table for somebody else (probably American, which is short on capacity to NYC, and United, which is short on capacity to Florida).
@@andrew_rayOne word: outbid. The majors are more flush with credit and will easily take the assets from a dead Spirit. JB is in financial trouble itself, and cannot afford to splurge on assets that might not be worth it.
@@starventure I'm not sure the Big Three will be very interested in the west coast assets. They're all already pretty well set, especially in LA. The east coast assets will be much more competitive.
Well if a judge denies the Alaska/Hawaiian merger nobody wins and more people will lose because Hawaiian’s alternative is to go bankrupt and lay off thousands, shareholders will lose millions and restructure. Or they will just go out of business altogether and sell everything. So they’re going away most likely either way so there won’t be competition with them from anybody. Their shares are about $5 when the buyout was announced and Alaska is paying the shareholders $18 a share
It’s unfortunate that the JetBlue and spirit deal did not go through and all the larger carriers got larger, shutting out the value airlines. It’s amazing how this deal didn’t pass the muster but yet all the others did goes to show you it’s nothing more than BS. Personally, I don’t like spirit also known as the big yellow bus, have a very undesirable passenger situations at their counters, occurring all the time across the United States.
The reason the larger ones were allowed to merge is because there are more larger airlines, particularly in the US. For budget airlines, there aren't that many. For the larger airlines you have ones like United, SW, American ,Delta, and several others that have a large presence in the US. So them merging doesn't really give one airline any significant monopoly over the others (which is why United and Continental were likely allowed to merge, but JB/Spirit were not, because of only a few players in the budget market with I think Frontier being the biggest).
@@HR-wd6cwBut it still means that some cities are only served by particular airlines and people in these cities have little in the way of choice. For example, Atlanta and Dallas are heavily served by Delta and American, so it would be better for consumers to choose these flights, as more options are available, which means that these airlines play direct roles in how the economies of these cities are shaped.
What about merging with Alaska airlines? Their very few overlapping routes are transcontinental routes that already have competition from other airlines, so antitrust shouldn't be a massive issue. The merger would allow a complete transcontinental airline with a diverse fleet (to ensure reliability if, say, another AS1282 happens) and slots all over the country. The only thing they would then be missing from the Big 3 is widebodies and a central hub... (they would have to order more narrowbodies too but their combined fleets + the number of orders is closed to 800 I think).
@@battlefield3112011 alaska Hawaiian merger will not affect an Alaska JetBlue merger because JetBlue and Hawaiian have 0 overlapping routes. The JetBlue spirit merger was scrutinized by the DOJ because it would remove competition in the ULCC market, as well as competition between JetBlue and spirit (which is significant, because JetBlue and spirit have a lot of overlapping routes). JetBlue and Alaska merger wouldn't have those problems...
There’s the main issue of fleet commonality, JetBlue only uses the A220 series and the A320 series while Alaska uses the Boeing 737 Series. Ofc if Alaska were to merge with Hawaiian and JetBlue the Owners would have to transition into owning a mixed fleet of both Boeing and Airbus Aircraft which would raise costs.
@@Window_seatspotter no it wouldn't raise costs more than they are now. In fact, they would gain the benefits of fleet diversity. Alaska airlines has all their 737 max 9s grounded right now, which is a massive portion of their fleet. If the combined airline had both types, they could switch some of those flights for the airbus planes that are less utilized or full. That would minimize the number of passengers with cancellations. Also also, having both types in the fleet would allow stronger bargaining power with airbus vs Boeing for new orders.
Suggesting a feeder agreement with Spirit or Frontier is ridiculous! Completely different products. Being based at CMH airport, my only options for transatlantic feed is with the "Big 3". It's too bad the agreement with AA was disallowed.
There are more relevant airports in Europe which could definitely be worth having more direct flights to the US: Rome, Barcelona, Nice, Vienna, Berlin, just to name some of them - and they dont have too much competition and no shortage of slots. But as far as I know, with the A321LR, the distance is still to high to connect them directly to the US. Lets hope the A321XLR arrives soon, this could make things a lot easer for JetBlue.
@@alphamalegold indeed, Berlin for example still lacks major services/connections, partly because of the fiasko surrounding it's new airport which opened long after the home carrier Air Berlin went pancrupt and during the pandemic of all things as well and last but not least leading to major players like lufthansa establishing very little business there as of now... As far as I'm concerned the only direct connections to the US are provided by Delta and United, both to New York
Interesting video. Jet Blue needs to focus on domestic and international of course. Routes that don't make sense need to go. LAX to LAS? Is that really even profitable? They need to focus on strengths! That is east coast and Trans Atlantic and cross country. I enjoyed this video so much, the graphic showing mergers shows CO's logo from the 80's. How retro! In another forum someone mentioned that the book from "Worst to First" by Gordon Bethune is relevant. Have a reliable operation, happy employees, and fly routes that make sense.
I've flown JetBlue from PHX to BOS before and it was the best and most amazing flight i've ever been on... I LOVE Jet Blue... However, they ONLY fly red eyes out of PHX...
If blocking this merger causes the deaths of Spirit and Jet Blue, it’s not great for competition. Also, it’s interesting that DL-NW, TWA-US-AAL-AW, CO-UAL were all allowed but suddenly these two are not.
They can focus on smaller european cities with their Airbuses. Like JFK to Naples, Lyon, Catania, Stuttgardvetc. So many great options where Jetblue can offer direct flights to those cities while no one else can
They need to expand on their reach throughout the US. As much as I'd like to see JetBlue be transatlantic, even with a larger aircraft to serve even further (an A350 or equivalent in a JetBlue livery would be cool), they need to secure the home front first. Flights to the Midwest as a start
JB could still end up buying Spirit. From what I've heard Spirit is on the verge of bankruptcy and if they go Chapter 11 it would make a buyout by JB more likely to be allowed to proceed. I'd love to try JB mint at some point, but living in Denver I don't really fly anywhere they have a presence, Denver is United's largest hub and Southwest's 2nd largest hub.
Another idea is to get a network from Orlando to somewhere in Europe. But that is a very risky move. Even though Orlando is a common destination for families, it’s probably not best for an international area.
I think there is a Jet Blue/ Southwest combination coming down the pipeline. Just speculation, but there have been some recent route modifications as well as the SWA pilots recently retaining council pertaining to merging operations.
Canceled our flight to JFK leaving from Denver at 1pm Sunday. Rescheduled us for departure 11:59pm Monday, a 35 hour delay! And they said they were not going to provide a hotel or transportation or anything, we either have to spend 35 hours here at the airport or get ripped off looking for a last minute hotel room! Did I mention I am traveling with 3 young children!!! Not even a sincere apology from the lady at the desk!! Oh and they have another flight but decided that a family with small kids doesn't get priority for that flight! JetBlue is the worst!
Transatlantic turbulence in a narrowbody would be absolutely terrifying, it’s bad enough in a widebody. Doesn’t matter how good their onboard product is or how low their fare is, I could never see them as an option. But that’s just me 😁
@@Default78334 Yes, and I’ve always avoided them. I’m terrified of turbulence, and the smaller the plane the more pronounced it is. I couldn’t put myself through it, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the flight at all for worrying about it. But like I said, that’s just me. Many others have no issue with it at all, and that’s fine too 😊
This is the one I don't understand. While I wish a few of them hadn't happened, particularly ATA and Southwest and United and Continental, I don't understand what makes this one any different. To be clear, I want to see *MORE* airlines and *MORE* competition. Antitrust law in this country is broken.
@@m0ondoggy There are fewer budget carriers in the American market, and if Spirit and JB merged, that would pretty give them a monopoly in the market. Now if Frontier were to fold, then maybe they would let JB/Spirit merge because there wouldn't really be anymore budget airlines left except for the lesser known (perhaps more regional) airlines.
More airlines is not where it's at anymore. Operating airlines is such an expensive enterprise. Yes, there are small airlines that scrape by in a niche, so there are exceptions. United and Continental was the perfect merger. They both needed the other's route system.@@m0ondoggy
It has to do with route overlapping. B6 (JetBlue) and NK (Spirit) routes overlapped more than 70% of each other. If NK merged with F9 (Frontier) as was originally planned, there wouldn't be as much as fuss or issues. But shareholders forced NK to make this mistake.
I’m not disagreeing. I just don’t see how this is different from SWA and ATA. They overlapped too. I’m glad the merger didn’t happen, but I don’t like the seemingly arbitrary nature of how this is happening.
So as far as West Coast, Jet Blue flies out of Long Beach California, Portland Oregon, Reno Nevada and Seattle Washington. Those are just the airports I've been through with them. To be honest I'm always happy to fly into and out of airports like Long Beach instead of LAX. If Jet Blue targeted airports on the scale of Long Beach for their domestics short hops instead of focusing on breaking into larger airports, I'm sure their quality of service and value would win more hearts than they already do.
Wrong about the strong domestic network for trans atlantic demand. 20 million people in the New York tri-state area alone. Plenty of demand to fly to Europe without connecting flights arriving there. For MINT they're charging a business class fare for a first class experience.
JB doesn’t need to fight for gates at the major European airports because they don’t have connecting flights. They can fly to secondary airports in the same cities or directly to tourist destinations with their smaller jets.
The true way for JetBlue is to take all their remaining E190s and expand to some base that doesn’t have many low cost options to the east coast. They could also expand Southward into Mexico and perhaps northward into Canada.
My recent experience with trying to book a transatlantic flight was that I booked a flight about 8 months in advance only to have them cancel the flight with no options. My travel agent was able to book a flight with American at half the price of my JetBlue flight, so, low cost airline?
The talk of Westward Expansion makes me giggle. flew Jet Blue from Seattle to Long Beach to Vegas and back in 2010. They had a decent footprint out west then. What happened?
Sometimes 10 flights to the States from London each year. I generally used BA because, well, I have been collecting miles for years (we lived in the Middle East for years, so our mileage was serious). The lower cost of JB and its killer business class, and BA'S expensive and terrible business class seats have moved us to JB. Of course, if I need to go to LA or Chicago, I take a non-stop flight from another airline (I HATE layovers) - usually BA. Also, we were Norwegian fliers for three year period. Of course, their business class was the 1990's version, but it was half the price of BA, so it is easy to deal with an 8 hour flight at night to JFK regardless of the business class seats and foot. The other thing is the kind and flexible treatment of dogs. I have a little guy and no one gave us grief because we were on a 2-3-2 if I recall. We were on a window side. Now, this is all mute because of Norwegian's demise. However, while more expensive, JB offers a much better product at a discount even if not half price. You must try JB. You will be surprised with the business class. BTW, the comments on BA are very much generalisations. Some aircraft have had upgrades to something along the lines of the Solstyst III or the Collins Diamon. However, I seem to have bad like and get the existing seats. Also, I am in love with old 747, mainly because there is not replacement for the quiet upper deck. In the end, a JB JFK-Heathrow or LGW is better quality and price. Despite the end of the 747 😩😩😩 there is a great opportunity with JB. Use it.
As a former Jetblue employee, I believe they need to expand their base in the Midewest adding bases in either Chicago, Milwaukee or St. Louis and fly to locations to Florida and the West Coast ,etc.
Im surprised they don’t have a base in Chicago
As a former Spirit employee, I agree!
Maybe they should merge with Braniff
@@buckyperchski-mc2vo I have said they should go after Southwest.
@@thestrangeman069 what Chicago airport could they do that ? ORD is controlled by AA and UAl and Midway is by SWa. Better off trying to build a base in MKE which has the room for them.
TH-cam astounds me some days. I've been on here for years and years, and I watch almost exclusively aviation videos, and I've never had one of your videos suggested to me, until today... And now I can't stop watching! How on Earth did TH-cam never recommend this channel to me before today! This is exactly the type of video I love watching 😂.
Same
Same
JetBlue needs to continue adding value for their frequent flyers as well. Unlike their legacy competitors, they have no lounges even though they control an entire building at JFK. They also took a first step with a full codeshare agreement with Qatar but absolutely need one with a European carrier for connecting flights on that side as well, instead of just feeding JFK and Boston for them.
They have plans to build lounges
What do you do in a lounge? Sit in a very small crowded space eating free junk food and drinking cheap liquor (worst thing you can do before you fly). I walked into a Centurion lounge with a friend a few weeks ago..we decided the terminal would feel far more spacious at DFW. Food was not really worth eating.
Their business model is rock bottom prices with no amenities.
@@GlennFarrow That’s more like what Spirit and Frontier are. JetBlue always had higher quality service than ULCCs with more legroom and entertainment, but saved by having a streamlined fleet, younger crews, and a smaller route network focusing only on a few big markets. They added Mint business class on some routes in the 2010s nearly 15 years after they started.
Lounges would be a nice feature. But there is so much room for improvement with lounges here in the US as compared to other countries that it really isn’t that worth while - unless you “really” need to. Nowadays its been so crowded and doesn’t give the luxury vibes that it once appeal many. Being from Houston and having the ability to go up north via JetBlue was a great experience. Wished it traveled west, but the notion this video gives provides alternate meaningful ways international east.
Imagine the memes; A half JetBlue half banana plane losing a 6-year-old at the airport and offering no legroom but the best service.
My one JetBlue experience involved our plane arriving on its inbound flight four hours after we were supposed to arrive at our destination, and literally nothing done to make anyone feel better about it. If that's the best service, I'll walk.
Even More Big Front Seat
same here 3 hrs late, due to thunder storms at departure and bad inclement weather at arrival, I dont G a F my plane needs to be on time no matter what, we can fly thru any storm, I don't care if we die i want to get on time
@@de-fault_de-fault
With long haul flights- 🤮
@@mirzaahmed6589 I still laugh that Spirit only has those because they were too cheap to replace the old first class seats on second hand aircraft they bought.
My god, if JB's business class becomes affordable to fly Europe, it will be a massive hit (I'm signing in already! )
It already is relatively affordable for a quality business class product.
Yea its actually really affordable for what it is.
I flew Mint to LHR on an A321neo a few weeks ago, and it was fantastic. While I used a Move to Mint certificate, an RT Mint ticket was around $1600, very reasonable for business class - and a pretty good experience!
It’s perfectly priced my opinion
I think JetBlue should try to get some decent routes to Chicago O’Hare before breaking in to Europe. It should get used to dealing with slot issues within its comfort zone before heading to Europe where it will be much harder to find space
Chicago is too competitive. United and American are the big airlines there on the international scene, not to mention Southwest is a domestic player at Midway.
@@TysonIke I’m saying they should get used to fighting competition in places that you can easily find work arounds to rather than just immediately going into like Amsterdam where there are almost no other options for what airport.
The biggest issue expanding at ORD is lack of available gate space.
@@thebaseballcow2024 dont they already have that in NYC?
@@TysonIke i guess. idk its just a thought
Or they could just pick the pieces of spirit that they want as Spirit heads for bankruptcy
This is probably a back up plan
The way it should be. Allowing a merger bails out all the execs and investors that ran spirit into the ground. We need to stop letting mergers designed to bailout a crooked business by absorbing the losses from bad decisions.
We need to let bankruptcies happen so there are consequences to poor management.
But it depends if the entire company (Spirit) and its assets are sold to another party as a package deal. Sometimes the assets (physical assets) go back to the creditors and they do what they want with them. But JB could capitalize on the routes that would open up as a result if Spirit goes under.
@@HR-wd6cw Creditors want money. They will try to sell it all.
@@HR-wd6cw yes, it won’t be nearly as easy as some people seem to think it will to just buy asset. There will be many parties involved if they do go bankrupt and they may not shut down just restructure.
The irony of this is, this ruling could cause one of these companies to go out of business, which would lead to less competition and higher fares. Exactly the thing the ruling was supposed to prevent.
Alternatively the ruling saved JetBlue from taking on the Spirit passengers that made that airline into a meme
well, the executives at Spirit don't see to agree with you, that they might go out of business. They claim they're dong great financially, their financial filings don't show them teetering on bankruptcy. Jetblue is not exactly hurting, either.
There is a defense in these types of cases, where, if one company is going bankrupt, sometimes you're allowed to buy them up even if it reduces competition, but it's a tough sell. These two companies were _not_ arguing that here. I think they just threaten this thing about "oh, I might go bankrupt!" as a way of shifting blame.
It's a very similar game that pharmaceutical companies play, "Oh! If I can't price gouge, then I can't afford to find the cure for cancer!" The idea being, _you_ are the one responsible for this, not _them_ .
This ruling cannot cause anyone to go out of business. Business practices cause companies to go out of business.
If this ruling causes them to got out of business then, they should have never agreed to merger in the first place.
nice predection lmao
@ezplays3321 I just checked the news. I didn't know this happened.
I don’t think JetBlue would want to have a code share with spirit or frontier. Like you mentioned, they are separate business models. A passenger flying Mint to LHR is not going to be happy flying from DEN-JFK on a Frontier aircraft. I feel they have a decent business model and enough loyal customers to be a major player. They might have to opt for smaller airports like Stansted, Gatwick or Orly… but I’m sure they’ve already thought of that 😎
Flying business class passengers to secondary airports is quite impossible. They expect to get a connection flight from their destination. Who wants to check out the luggage and then drive to the main airport by taxi.
Definitely would do that since Easyjet is unable to compete for spots like that.
I did a jet blue trip from AMS to JFK. It was one of the best.
I did Jet Blue Mint from BOS to LGW and returned from HEATHROW to BOS last summer. Loved the enclosed mint seat. Food was great and Free wifi and Satellite TV. Would definitely recommend
Yeah those Mint seats looked nice from BOS to LGW this past Dec. and I snagged an unused amenity kit when I deplaned but for those of us back in steerage a cold wrap for a transatlantic flight kinda turned me off for making me book them transatlantic.
They don’t work for me not part of an alliance very limited frequency, no lounges, etc.
@@jumpingjeffflash9946so you stole an amenity kit. That’s what you did.
@@rtbrtb_dutchy4183 there was actually a few on the seats that they didn't use, this was at deplaning, not boarding. It wasn't much, just socks, toothbrush, some kind of aroma spray, eyeshield.
Maybe somebody could tell me if I am missing something, but both airlines were unprofitable the past couple years. As JetBlue was borrowing 3.8+ billion in a rising interest rate environment to buy Spirit in an all cash deal, the combined company was going to struggle and likely need to be reorganized in bankruptcy court. (Costly and distracting to a business.) This in part is why JetBlue stock was down over 75% the past three years. PS as you asked in the video: My parents took JetBlue from jfk to San Antonio the other month and seemed happy with the service.
I think jetBlue is kind of happy the deal fell through for this reason and is looking for Spirit to file Chapter 7 to buy their assets at a significant discount versus the acquisition at this point.
@@connorscanlon6289 There was a headline yesterday evening both airlines filed an appeal to try to get the decision overturned. Although I would think the odds are too slim for that to be successful. googling, it was supposed to be like a 470m termination fee Jetblue's on the hook for if the deal was blocked and they abandon the takeover attempt. Some of which was also of course because Jetblue's own takeover attempt surpassed what Frontier was offering for Spirit ~2 years ago when the latter two had announced a merger agreement which Spirit's stockholders rejected. As for me, I'm happy to watch from the sidelines as a spectator.
@@connorscanlon6289 Other airlines will have deeper pockets to buy up Spirit's assets and airports will open up their gates and slots for auction. It was better for JetBlue to pay a premium to buy Spirit vs having to watch their competition grow even bigger
@@connorscanlon6289 It would be chapter 11 to restructure debt
If your stock is down 70% you would be stupid if you tried to buy another companies with a stock swap. There a cash buy on credit makes significantly more sense.
As someone from the deep west of Germany and being really pissed off that my main airport, Düsseldorf, hasn’t got any long haul routes except Dubai and Doha, I think JetBlue has a chance of getting profitable flights from there to NYC, Boston etc. Düsseldorf used to have a lot of long haul connections in the 90s with LTU (even flying to LA at some point) and then AirBerlin, but since they went bust there is nothing there anymore. The same goes for other second tier German airports like Hamburg or Stuttgart and I believe if they flew directly to Marseille or Lyon, they would have a good chance of turning profits, because the 321neos aren’t too big and their low operating costs makes it even easier; but maybe I’m missing something
Nah I think you're onto something. They need to route build like an ULCC or holiday airline but offer good service and nice business class (more for rich vacationers than business men/women). Like you said, with their fleet they are already optimized for long, thin routes to Europe at a lower cost. Idk I see them as being an IcelandAir competitor (cheaper than mainline tickets but good service and comfortable planes).
I think you have a point, there are many relatively large cities (around 1M people metro area) that are completely undeserved with no direct flights to the US. The economics of operating a 200-350-seat wide-body aircraft (or even a 757, if range permitted) probably did not work for these markets, furthermore AF and LH want to feed their hub so, even with the right aircraft for thin routes, they have no incentive to offer direct flights to the US from Hamburg, Lyon, Marseille, Stuttgart or Toulouse. With just 138 seats, the JB A321LR could be a terrific opportunity for JetBlue in these markets: there is enough "local wealth" in these cities to sell their Mint seats with no direct competition, and definitely a wider audience eager to fly direct to NYC, who could fill the rest of the cabin. JB is also one of the few airlines between the US and Europe operating a transatlantic A321LR, this market almost seems like a no-brainer for them, especially if these new routes can feed their domestic ones (again these cities have no direct flights to any other city in the US). On a side note, I find it incredibly ironic that Toulouse, the HQ of Airbus, does not even have a direct flight to the US!
@@CarlNewYorkParis i never really got it with Düsseldorf. With the Ruhrgebiet to the northeast and Cologne and Bonn (there is an airport, but it’s relatively small) to the south there are about 10 million people in the Rhein/Ruhr metro area. NRW is by far Germany’s most populous state so they would definitely get their jets full.
DUS is useless without an EU network to feed passengers into it. Airlines need to sell its business class seats to turn a profit. It isn’t a leisure carrier like TUI or Condor. Frankfurt fills those seats. Berlin and Dusseldorf do not. Not without a European network like LH at MUC.
The JetBlue mint experience was incredible into and out of Amsterdam. I took that flight in October 2023, gracing the luxury of its A321LR in seats 1A & 1F dubbed as Jetblue's Studios. And Seats 7A and 7F (business) on the return flight...simply incredible
The obvious interlining partner for jetBlue is Alaska Airlines, they have almost equal uneven rule over the East and West coasts, respectively, and could position themselves as partners in feeding jetBlue to the East and the Atlantic and Alaska to the West (and potentially with Hawaiian to the Pacific).
If I were them I’d look to a large, relatively open airfield near the mean center of the US (PIT jumps out) as a hub for both carriers and broker interlining agreements/combined ticket sales between both to grow each respective network.
That, and expand their partnership with Porter Airlines for a slightly stronger presence in Canada.
I’d welcome both of them with a stronger presence in Denver. They’re both weak here but with expansion plans for gates and runways, we can handle the growth. DIA is an affordable airport and with a United and Frontier hub, strong presence from Southwest and American, more connections can be made easily versus other internal airports.
Kansas City, right in the middle!
@@ttopero I think Denver makes a lot of sense for some airlines, but would be difficult for either to make a strong foothold given how busy it already is with massive security lines and huge crowds. The size also starts to make connections difficult versus other airfields
@@cpgoef6 I think this would be another strong option, it just had a major renovation like PIT is constructing right now, and is relatively open for expansion.
I think some points that make PIT a bit stronger are that the PIT airfield is larger and more open for expansion, the concourses have a better layout for connections (arranged in a simple, connected “X” pattern), and the airfield is closer to major connections in the Northeast, Midwest, and South of the US (all of which being a 1:30 flight or less) which makes it a better “feeder” connection than an airfield directly in the middle (as in regional connection flights can be shorter and more frequent hopping back and forth than a longer connection to a central hub further away).
But KCI did an outstanding job on its renovation and is a great field in general that should see greater traffic given congestion in larger hubs and how nice it has become.
Pan Am's situation was very different than Jetblue's. Pan Am had a ton of debt because it was not suited to the post deregulation world. They had been prevented by law from having domestic service until the 1978 deregulation act which led them into a disastrous and overpriced 1980 merger with National airlines (which buried them even deeper in debt). This was all right after the 1979 energy crisis and several high-profile terrorist attacks. Then in 1988 there was the Lockerbie bombing.
You missed a lot here. Jetblue also wanted to prevent the Spirit - Frontier merger as it would have created a large direct competitor. Now Spirit is looking at a possible bankruptcy which, if it happens, will still eliminate Spirit (so much for helping travelers). Jetblue stock went up on the news of the merger failure and has decided not to appeal the judge's decision (they now want out of the merger deal). Spirit's stock has dropped badly.
Hello Coby, I’m a FA for jetblue working the jetblue transatlantic flights, if you have any questions let me know, I’ll be more than happy to help !
I really enjoyed Jet Blue Mint on Boston to Heathrow…..imagine being ‘fed’ (shuttled) from frontier or spirit to that 😩
It’s a catastrophe for Spirit too.
The four monopoly airlines won,
The consumer lost
It’s not help to block the merger when spirit goes bankrupt and 11k employees lose jobs. Just approve it. That’s what spirit employees and pilots want, they don’t want to be jobless
Mint Service from jetBlue is fantastic flew from Boston to San Francisco!!!
8:55 Jet Blue already tried this. They had a codeshare partnership with American for about a year before it was also shutdown by the courts.
JetBlue will be the next target of Alaska Air Group after the HA merger is completed. With HA's pacific routes, Alaska's strong presence on the west coast, and then JetBlue's east coast and fledgling TATL aspirations, you end up with a new member of the "Big 3" club. The only thing that might screw that up is being in OneWorld, and big dAAdy may not like new competition on home turf.
Yeah if that happens then they'll need to have a 4th global alliance
Isn’t JB Airbus only while Alaska flies Boeing only?
@@stbbsd That hasn't prevented any of the previous mergers. Delta (Boeing) & Northwest (Airbus), United (Airbus) & Continental (Boeing), etc
@@ran4shnor Alaska with Hawaiian and Virgin.
The reason it got blocked is that they didn't "Save 10% for the big guy." 🏴☠ 🚩
I actually think that Jetblue's domestic route network is similar too what Eastern Airlines old weak domestic market was
Why not merge with Alaskan and with that join the Oneworld?
Because Alaska is already attempting to merge with Hawaiian (which will likely be struck down too)
because we don't need more consolidation
I flew jetblue from Orlando to Sacramento via JFK. Even though I flew economy, I really liked jetblue. The seats were nice, the in-flight entertainment was good with alot of selection, and it had good leg room. I will definitely fly with them again. I think their only weakness is the lack of western flights. Which is hard to get. I'd like to see them fly to hawaii. Maybe enter a partnership with hawaiian or Alaska or something. Eitherway, good airline
Hawaiian has a codeshare with JetBlue.
@@dc5723 you know what I completely forgot about that. I used the code to get miles for hawaiian. Lol I'm dumb
Mint is an excellent offering. Jet Blue is my long time favorite airline. I am a Boston based traveler frequenting destinations up and down the east coast so it fits me well and I love the product. I hope they can grow and stay relevant
You missed a big point, the deal is not over yet, because they can appeal. Spirit airline is financially struggling, they are highly thinking about a bankruptcy, after relooking at the stocks and shares of Spirit airline, the deal might get a green-light during the appeal. There is only 2 options for spirit airline bankruptcy or merger. Which one is better?
Appeals in these cases generally do not go through. It has more to do with an unfair advantage potentially within the market than the financial status of either company. My guess is that companies like Frontier would complain if they allowed the deal to go through, among other low-cost carriers that are lesser known.
Appeals courts usually are focused upon legal process rather than considering new information. Does the court governing mergers operate differently?
An appeal is actually not likely they rarely work, and it would be just more waste of money and time
The competition on transatlantic routes into London, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt might be too much. But there are a number of underserved destinations like Berlin, Antwerp, Copenhagen, Dublin, Beauvais-Tillé Airport which could be profitable if JetBlue formed and alliance with a European Low Budget Airline like Ryanair or Easy Jet. Such an alliance would make destinations in Eastern Europe accessible. It’s not lack of options. It’s lack of imagination.
There might be some truth to this. Thinking outside the box is good. United is even flying to Tenerife. Except if all these European airports were such good choices, major US carriers would already have a much larger presence.
It's worth noting that the deal can be restructured, and it would also be essential to note that the agreement in its current form is the one that was blocked. The ruling clarified that they could try again with a restructured deal if the so choose.
I don't think Spirit/Jetblue can possibly conceive of a deal which would be legal.
As a legal expert on antitrust put it, the ruling reads like "an almost stream-of-consciousness discussion of an airline merger from a judge uncomfortable with blocking something he knew was against the law." It includes sections of lyrics and poems, it's rambling, and it's not particularly coherent.
The facts in this case were very cut and dry: the 'alliance' (it's a type of merger, I'm just going to call it a merger) would be bad for the industry and harm competition. If we look at the history of mergers in the US over the last 45 years, we see, the mergers ultimately cut routes, reduce capacity, and raise prices... despite assurances that they won't. This has happened literally every merger, without fail, in US airlines, for the last 45 years.
Spirit/Jetblue documents and emails seemed to indicate, the people steering the merger were perfectly aware of this, and in fact, the whole goal of the merger was to reduce industry capacity. The plan was, once Spirit/Jetblue could reduce capacity, they could then raise prices. This is actually illegal, under antitrust law, but Spirit/Jetblue were confident the feds and courts would just let it slide, like they always have.
The judge, IMO, was conflicted because for the past 45 years, these mergers would have just sailed by without comment. The judge had to square the case, where, Spirit/Jetblue was so obviously anticompetitive, but that would imply these past airline mergers were anticompetitive, too. No judge wants to stick their neck out and be the first one to reverse course, which is the why case involved all these tortured twists and turns.
JetBlue is starting routes to where I’m moving which is Edinburgh. I’m gonna go on them if they’re still around in 1.3 years.
(Nearest is Gatwick rn and I’m a student pilot)
jetblue wont end for another 20+ years its too good
Jet Blues service is one of the best in the industry from my experience with them, in my mind it goes jb, south west, united, and then everyone else
Sp the Big Four get to keep their 80% dominant market share without any threat from another airline.
You can't serve high demand constrained slots with small A321 planes! Either get bigger planes (which should fill themselves - cause high demand route) or get slots at less premium airports.
I assume A330-900neos?
I just flew BOS to LGW in Dec. on that A-321NEO, while having it be sparsely filled which allowed me a row to myself (as did many others) the plane doesn't have ovens. Nothing said thanks for spending $700+ dollars for a round trip ticket, 7 hour ride across the pond like being handed a cold chicken salad wrap. My go to from BOS stopped doing business here (Norwegian Air Shuttle 787's) Next trip over I'll make sure I check the equipment better, they were however the only ones who flew non-stop to the airport I'm comfortable getting in and out of. Next time I'll consider LHR and skip jetblue but hey...free pantry right?
A321 isn’t a small plane
Would love a direct flight from Oakland to JFK. Tired of most of the direct flights coming out of SFO.
JetBlue needs widebodies like the A330-800neo or A330-900neo.
From a network perspective the merger I want to see is JetBlue and Alaska/Hawaiian. You take two (three?) largely regional players in the US and merge them into a fifth major network carrier (besides AA UA DL WN) which would have global reach - JetBlue goes Transatlantic while Hawaiian flies widebodies to Japan. Fleet integration would be tough but is not insurmountable - three of the other four major US players play with both Boeing and Airbus products at the same time. In a world where mergers usually create less competition, taking that regional player on any given route and turning into a global player with the network that can chase corporate clients and loyalty from people who need lots of destinations is huge.
I observed the logic behind acquiring Spirit's all V2500/GTF Airbus fleet. Glad I'm not the only one who caught onto that.
Consumers should feel relief that the government blocked an airline merger, and now one of the two airlines faces a serious change of bankruptcy / liquidation as a result? Something tells me if Spirit goes belly up that means less competition. Tell me how I'm wrong.
As a frequent JetBlue flyer I can agree 100% and I've noticed that any JetBlue flight between 6pm and 6 am gets extremely delayed the most I've gotten delayed on a JetBlue flight it over 11 hours and i couldn't leave the airport I recently just flew JetBlue on a flight from PBI West palm beach to Boston and we were supposed to depart at 7:20 pm and get there at 10:40 and I ended up leaving at 11:00pm
I assure you it will not keep prices down.
Well, I must say that I'm looking forward to the new video, especially the SVF (Spontaneous Ventilation Facility) on the 777X and whether it works as well as on that Alaska 737 Max.
You’re a bozo. Your attempt at humor fell flat.
“Customizeable” is one way to describe spirits gouging of customers through fees.
Calling my beautiful Norwegian Airlines “Norsk” made my day, I love when people pronounce names in the traditional language it’s set in. 😁😁
I love Jetblue, and would love to fly them to Europe.
In terms of landing slots secondary airports might be an option, except ground transportation becomes an issue that customers might not want to deal with. If bus connections to city centers were bundled in with the fare/itinerary some customers might be more willing to fly into these airports that are not subject to the same overcrowding, long walks and delays as what we have now.
jetBlue should take a page from Continental and later United and find the thin routes out of JFK and Boston to smaller European airports.
I would love to see them focus in customer satisfaction rather than the lowest cost possible. If the price is slightly higher as a result hopefully the customer will be able to understand the extra price is well worth it.
American tried adding extra legroom 20ish years ago and they discovered people weren’t willing to pay the extra 3-4 bucks. It’s a race to the bottom
They’ve appealed the judges ruling
JetBlue is now using its A321neo aircraft that were originally supposed to fly domestically and to South America on JFK-DUB, BOS-DUB, JFK-EDI and BOS-LHR routes. They’re saving the LRs for JFK-LHR, JFK-AMS, JFK-CDG and JFK-LGW routes as they’re farther or more premium. The neos don’t have a galley that can heat food for economy, so those routes get cold meals only. They also have fewer Mint seats than the LRs.
I know this is something of a niche desire, but if JetBlue offered flights from anywhere on the east coast to London Gatwick, I'd absolutely be a major customer. I'm a Brit living in Ohio, originally from Sussex; flights to Gatwick drop me off a half-hour train ride from home, while Heathrow is an absolute slog to get to.
Boy are you in for some good news then. JFK-LGW runs every day
Problem is JetBlue wants to position itself and has been marketing itself as an alternative to the big American 3 airlines. Going to Gatwick is not without its risk to that positioning. The business class traveler and mint program would suffered when majority would like to fly into the main airport in London and not secondary airports.
@@JeanClaudeCOCO Yeah - like I said, it's a niche desire, not something I'd actually expect or recommend.
I like JetBlue and wish them well. Looking forward to flying with them to US. More flight from Gatwick might be the answer to slots
I actually think JetBlue will be ok long term…. Spirit however may be the ones in trouble.
Spirit is even more screwed. Increasing talk of BK for them since they are bleeding cash now.
And if B6 is in a position to pick up their assets when they do, that would be almost as good as (if not better than) the merger, because they can pick and choose which assets they actually want, and leave the east coast assets they don't need on the table for somebody else (probably American, which is short on capacity to NYC, and United, which is short on capacity to Florida).
@@andrew_rayOne word: outbid. The majors are more flush with credit and will easily take the assets from a dead Spirit. JB is in financial trouble itself, and cannot afford to splurge on assets that might not be worth it.
@@starventure I'm not sure the Big Three will be very interested in the west coast assets. They're all already pretty well set, especially in LA. The east coast assets will be much more competitive.
Well if a judge denies the Alaska/Hawaiian merger nobody wins and more people will lose because Hawaiian’s alternative is to go bankrupt and lay off thousands, shareholders will lose millions and restructure. Or they will just go out of business altogether and sell everything. So they’re going away most likely either way so there won’t be competition with them from anybody. Their shares are about $5 when the buyout was announced and Alaska is paying the shareholders $18 a share
It’s unfortunate that the JetBlue and spirit deal did not go through and all the larger carriers got larger, shutting out the value airlines. It’s amazing how this deal didn’t pass the muster but yet all the others did goes to show you it’s nothing more than BS. Personally, I don’t like spirit also known as the big yellow bus, have a very undesirable passenger situations at their counters, occurring all the time across the United States.
The reason the larger ones were allowed to merge is because there are more larger airlines, particularly in the US. For budget airlines, there aren't that many. For the larger airlines you have ones like United, SW, American ,Delta, and several others that have a large presence in the US. So them merging doesn't really give one airline any significant monopoly over the others (which is why United and Continental were likely allowed to merge, but JB/Spirit were not, because of only a few players in the budget market with I think Frontier being the biggest).
@@HR-wd6cwBut it still means that some cities are only served by particular airlines and people in these cities have little in the way of choice. For example, Atlanta and Dallas are heavily served by Delta and American, so it would be better for consumers to choose these flights, as more options are available, which means that these airlines play direct roles in how the economies of these cities are shaped.
United didn’t gobble up anything. United was SAVED by Continental !
JetBlue should serve Frankfurt as they’re expanding the airport and are connected to other cities more than any other airport
That is coming once Airbus delivers the XLR
What about merging with Alaska airlines? Their very few overlapping routes are transcontinental routes that already have competition from other airlines, so antitrust shouldn't be a massive issue. The merger would allow a complete transcontinental airline with a diverse fleet (to ensure reliability if, say, another AS1282 happens) and slots all over the country. The only thing they would then be missing from the Big 3 is widebodies and a central hub... (they would have to order more narrowbodies too but their combined fleets + the number of orders is closed to 800 I think).
Alaska is already in the process of merging with Hawaiian.
Alaska-JetBlue merger will face the same scrutiny from DOJ.
@@battlefield3112011 alaska Hawaiian merger will not affect an Alaska JetBlue merger because JetBlue and Hawaiian have 0 overlapping routes. The JetBlue spirit merger was scrutinized by the DOJ because it would remove competition in the ULCC market, as well as competition between JetBlue and spirit (which is significant, because JetBlue and spirit have a lot of overlapping routes). JetBlue and Alaska merger wouldn't have those problems...
There’s the main issue of fleet commonality, JetBlue only uses the A220 series and the A320 series while Alaska uses the Boeing 737 Series. Ofc if Alaska were to merge with Hawaiian and JetBlue the Owners would have to transition into owning a mixed fleet of both Boeing and Airbus Aircraft which would raise costs.
@@Window_seatspotter no it wouldn't raise costs more than they are now. In fact, they would gain the benefits of fleet diversity. Alaska airlines has all their 737 max 9s grounded right now, which is a massive portion of their fleet. If the combined airline had both types, they could switch some of those flights for the airbus planes that are less utilized or full. That would minimize the number of passengers with cancellations. Also also, having both types in the fleet would allow stronger bargaining power with airbus vs Boeing for new orders.
I flew mint from LAX to BOS and enjoyed it. Really would like to do it to Europe on some trips planned in the coming years.
Suggesting a feeder agreement with Spirit or Frontier is ridiculous! Completely different products. Being based at CMH airport, my only options for transatlantic feed is with the "Big 3". It's too bad the agreement with AA was disallowed.
There are more relevant airports in Europe which could definitely be worth having more direct flights to the US: Rome, Barcelona, Nice, Vienna, Berlin, just to name some of them - and they dont have too much competition and no shortage of slots. But as far as I know, with the A321LR, the distance is still to high to connect them directly to the US. Lets hope the A321XLR arrives soon, this could make things a lot easer for JetBlue.
Esp since the lower capacity of the a321 is suited for the lower volunte
@@alphamalegold indeed, Berlin for example still lacks major services/connections, partly because of the fiasko surrounding it's new airport which opened long after the home carrier Air Berlin went pancrupt and during the pandemic of all things as well and last but not least leading to major players like lufthansa establishing very little business there as of now... As far as I'm concerned the only direct connections to the US are provided by Delta and United, both to New York
Interesting video. Jet Blue needs to focus on domestic and international of course. Routes that don't make sense need to go. LAX to LAS? Is that really even profitable? They need to focus on strengths! That is east coast and Trans Atlantic and cross country. I enjoyed this video so much, the graphic showing mergers shows CO's logo from the 80's. How retro! In another forum someone mentioned that the book from "Worst to First" by Gordon Bethune is relevant. Have a reliable operation, happy employees, and fly routes that make sense.
I can assure you, LAX-LAS is definitely profitable. Tons of people from LA go on gambling trips to LAS. Especially on the weekends.
I worked in the LAS airport. Yes that is profitable. 🙄
Great video, hope to see you at the air show 👍
Ten seconds into a Jet Blue-Spirit video, and you see the interior of a Southwest 737. :)
I've flown JetBlue from PHX to BOS before and it was the best and most amazing flight i've ever been on... I LOVE Jet Blue... However, they ONLY fly red eyes out of PHX...
If blocking this merger causes the deaths of Spirit and Jet Blue, it’s not great for competition.
Also, it’s interesting that DL-NW, TWA-US-AAL-AW, CO-UAL were all allowed but suddenly these two are not.
Is not over yet, Jetblue just filed appeal this week part of the deal so we should see the final decision in a couple of months.
They can focus on smaller european cities with their Airbuses. Like JFK to Naples, Lyon, Catania, Stuttgardvetc. So many great options where Jetblue can offer direct flights to those cities while no one else can
They need to expand on their reach throughout the US. As much as I'd like to see JetBlue be transatlantic, even with a larger aircraft to serve even further (an A350 or equivalent in a JetBlue livery would be cool), they need to secure the home front first. Flights to the Midwest as a start
I’m flying JetBlue Tampa - London in may. Great price for the mint seats too!
JB could still end up buying Spirit. From what I've heard Spirit is on the verge of bankruptcy and if they go Chapter 11 it would make a buyout by JB more likely to be allowed to proceed. I'd love to try JB mint at some point, but living in Denver I don't really fly anywhere they have a presence, Denver is United's largest hub and Southwest's 2nd largest hub.
I love JetBlue. Their flight attendants are always nice, clean planes. Pretty cheap fares depending on route
Another idea is to get a network from Orlando to somewhere in Europe. But that is a very risky move. Even though Orlando is a common destination for families, it’s probably not best for an international area.
I think there is a Jet Blue/ Southwest combination coming down the pipeline. Just speculation, but there have been some recent route modifications as well as the SWA pilots recently retaining council pertaining to merging operations.
Canceled our flight to JFK leaving from Denver at 1pm Sunday. Rescheduled us for departure 11:59pm Monday, a 35 hour delay! And they said they were not going to provide a hotel or transportation or anything, we either have to spend 35 hours here at the airport or get ripped off looking for a last minute hotel room! Did I mention I am traveling with 3 young children!!! Not even a sincere apology from the lady at the desk!! Oh and they have another flight but decided that a family with small kids doesn't get priority for that flight! JetBlue is the worst!
Transatlantic turbulence in a narrowbody would be absolutely terrifying, it’s bad enough in a widebody. Doesn’t matter how good their onboard product is or how low their fare is, I could never see them as an option. But that’s just me 😁
Airlines have been flying 757s on transatlantic flights for years without issue.
@@Default78334 Yes, and I’ve always avoided them. I’m terrified of turbulence, and the smaller the plane the more pronounced it is. I couldn’t put myself through it, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the flight at all for worrying about it. But like I said, that’s just me. Many others have no issue with it at all, and that’s fine too 😊
90% of mergers have been approved over the last 20 years, what happened with this one?
This is the one I don't understand. While I wish a few of them hadn't happened, particularly ATA and Southwest and United and Continental, I don't understand what makes this one any different. To be clear, I want to see *MORE* airlines and *MORE* competition. Antitrust law in this country is broken.
@@m0ondoggy There are fewer budget carriers in the American market, and if Spirit and JB merged, that would pretty give them a monopoly in the market. Now if Frontier were to fold, then maybe they would let JB/Spirit merge because there wouldn't really be anymore budget airlines left except for the lesser known (perhaps more regional) airlines.
More airlines is not where it's at anymore. Operating airlines is such an expensive enterprise. Yes, there are small airlines that scrape by in a niche, so there are exceptions. United and Continental was the perfect merger. They both needed the other's route system.@@m0ondoggy
It has to do with route overlapping. B6 (JetBlue) and NK (Spirit) routes overlapped more than 70% of each other. If NK merged with F9 (Frontier) as was originally planned, there wouldn't be as much as fuss or issues. But shareholders forced NK to make this mistake.
I’m not disagreeing. I just don’t see how this is different from SWA and ATA. They overlapped too. I’m glad the merger didn’t happen, but I don’t like the seemingly arbitrary nature of how this is happening.
I love the JetBlue Mint. It's definitely the best in the States
JetBlue + Avelo + Breeze = Merger next…
JetBlue issue is it's a full service airline without the network. Spirit does affect prices in the airports they fly in whether you fly them or not.
Jetbue already serves both Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London from JFK and BOS.
Always enjoy your excellent analysis Coby.
It is kind of ridiculous that a judge can block a private deal.
"JetBlue has slots at JFK and BOS".... shows video from DEN. :) :)
So as far as West Coast, Jet Blue flies out of Long Beach California, Portland Oregon, Reno Nevada and Seattle Washington. Those are just the airports I've been through with them. To be honest I'm always happy to fly into and out of airports like Long Beach instead of LAX. If Jet Blue targeted airports on the scale of Long Beach for their domestics short hops instead of focusing on breaking into larger airports, I'm sure their quality of service and value would win more hearts than they already do.
They do NOT fly out of LGB for about 3 years now........its all LAX
Don't forget that they also axed the Northeast Agreement that was in place with AA for years just about 6 months ago.
Wrong about the strong domestic network for trans atlantic demand. 20 million people in the New York tri-state area alone. Plenty of demand to fly to Europe without connecting flights arriving there. For MINT they're charging a business class fare for a first class experience.
JB has also expanded its South/Central American routes as well as the Caribbean...
You can often buy a mini seat at the gate for $500 each way. mint is pretty great
COBY i love these videos keep it up
I hate how everyone forgots about allegiant, I may not like them but they do matter
JB doesn’t need to fight for gates at the major European airports because they don’t have connecting flights. They can fly to secondary airports in the same cities or directly to tourist destinations with their smaller jets.
Love your detail in explaining stuff...island greetings from the Caribbean :) !!!
JetBlue needs some smaller market destinations. I loved JetBlue the times I have had the ability to fly.
And if possible, they could also try alternative airports in Europe, such as Gatwick or London City in the UK or Orly in Paris.
The true way for JetBlue is to take all their remaining E190s and expand to some base that doesn’t have many low cost options to the east coast. They could also expand Southward into Mexico and perhaps northward into Canada.
My recent experience with trying to book a transatlantic flight was that I booked a flight about 8 months in advance only to have them cancel the flight with no options. My travel agent was able to book a flight with American at half the price of my JetBlue flight, so, low cost airline?
The talk of Westward Expansion makes me giggle. flew Jet Blue from Seattle to Long Beach to Vegas and back in 2010. They had a decent footprint out west then. What happened?
LGB is a cursed airport to hub at. It has killed many a startup. You may as well hub at BUR and have some chance of survival.
Sometimes 10 flights to the States from London each year. I generally used BA because, well, I have been collecting miles for years (we lived in the Middle East for years, so our mileage was serious). The lower cost of JB and its killer business class, and BA'S expensive and terrible business class seats have moved us to JB. Of course, if I need to go to LA or Chicago, I take a non-stop flight from another airline (I HATE layovers) - usually BA. Also, we were Norwegian fliers for three year period. Of course, their business class was the 1990's version, but it was half the price of BA, so it is easy to deal with an 8 hour flight at night to JFK regardless of the business class seats and foot. The other thing is the kind and flexible treatment of dogs. I have a little guy and no one gave us grief because we were on a 2-3-2 if I recall. We were on a window side. Now, this is all mute because of Norwegian's demise. However, while more expensive, JB offers a much better product at a discount even if not half price. You must try JB. You will be surprised with the business class. BTW, the comments on BA are very much generalisations. Some aircraft have had upgrades to something along the lines of the Solstyst III or the Collins Diamon. However, I seem to have bad like and get the existing seats. Also, I am in love with old 747, mainly because there is not replacement for the quiet upper deck. In the end, a JB JFK-Heathrow or LGW is better quality and price. Despite the end of the 747 😩😩😩 there is a great opportunity with JB. Use it.