JetBlue Airways To Add First Class Seats
JetBlue, known for transporting tourists from the cities of Northeast warmth of Florida and the Caribbean, is making a play for corporate travelers.
Starting next year, the airline plans to offer every coach 16 reclining seats on flights between New York and Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is the first time the company will have a second class egalitarian service.
Transcontinental routes are the most profitable markets and highly controversial for airlines. Business class tickets often sell for $ 4,000 round trip. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are putting reclining beds in its premium cabins on those routes. Virgin America, which also flies from coast to coast, has a traditional First Class cabin with larger seats.
"Transcontinental routes have had high rates of premiums that we believe we can win," said JetBlue CEO David Barger said in a statement.
The airline based in New York yesterday announced the new seats in business-traveler conference in San Diego.
JetBlue Airways Corp. said the seats will debut in its new Airbus A321 in the second quarter of 2014. The aircraft with 16 seats in the forward cabin and 143 in the back. Four of the 16 business class seats will have doors and are being marketed by JetBlue as "private suites", similar to what Dubai-based Emirates via Singapore Airlines and offer their most important customers.
Other A321 not configured for transcontinental service will have 190 seats. The company did not say if the 34 inches of legroom for the passengers of the car are on their planes - one of the most generous in the industry - with any configuration change.
The 16 cabin seats offer top quality air mattresses with adjustable firmness, a massage function, a TV of 15 inch widescreen and a "me to wake-service" indicator if the passenger chooses to sleep in.
The decision comes a week after JetBlue announced dismal second-quarter earnings. Their income dropped by nearly a third, missing Wall Street expectations, as the maintenance and other expenses rose faster than revenue. The 13-year-old airline had benefited in the last decade from the new aircraft with lower maintenance costs and lower wages because of their young staff. As time passes, the cost benefits are being eroded, and the airline must find new ways to generate revenue.
The average flight in the quarter was 84.9 percent full of paying customers, compared to 85.3 percent a year earlier. The average one-way fell to $ 157.51 from $ 159.58 last summer. The company has built a loyal customer base of tourists who like live TV free, legroom and lack of charges for the first checked bag. Barger has been trying to attract more business travelers, with mixed results. After an initial spike yesterday, shares of the company closed one cent higher at $ 6.51 per share.
JetBlue Legroom on Embraer E-190
Starting next year, the airline plans to offer every coach 16 reclining seats on flights between New York and Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is the first time the company will have a second class egalitarian service.
Transcontinental routes are the most profitable markets and highly controversial for airlines. Business class tickets often sell for $ 4,000 round trip. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are putting reclining beds in its premium cabins on those routes. Virgin America, which also flies from coast to coast, has a traditional First Class cabin with larger seats.
"Transcontinental routes have had high rates of premiums that we believe we can win," said JetBlue CEO David Barger said in a statement.
The airline based in New York yesterday announced the new seats in business-traveler conference in San Diego.
JetBlue Airways Corp. said the seats will debut in its new Airbus A321 in the second quarter of 2014. The aircraft with 16 seats in the forward cabin and 143 in the back. Four of the 16 business class seats will have doors and are being marketed by JetBlue as "private suites", similar to what Dubai-based Emirates via Singapore Airlines and offer their most important customers.
Other A321 not configured for transcontinental service will have 190 seats. The company did not say if the 34 inches of legroom for the passengers of the car are on their planes - one of the most generous in the industry - with any configuration change.
The 16 cabin seats offer top quality air mattresses with adjustable firmness, a massage function, a TV of 15 inch widescreen and a "me to wake-service" indicator if the passenger chooses to sleep in.
The decision comes a week after JetBlue announced dismal second-quarter earnings. Their income dropped by nearly a third, missing Wall Street expectations, as the maintenance and other expenses rose faster than revenue. The 13-year-old airline had benefited in the last decade from the new aircraft with lower maintenance costs and lower wages because of their young staff. As time passes, the cost benefits are being eroded, and the airline must find new ways to generate revenue.
The average flight in the quarter was 84.9 percent full of paying customers, compared to 85.3 percent a year earlier. The average one-way fell to $ 157.51 from $ 159.58 last summer. The company has built a loyal customer base of tourists who like live TV free, legroom and lack of charges for the first checked bag. Barger has been trying to attract more business travelers, with mixed results. After an initial spike yesterday, shares of the company closed one cent higher at $ 6.51 per share.
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