JetBlue for SWA Frequent Flyer?

[mommyrom]

We have always flown with Southwest on our trips to see Mickey. This time, to cruise with Mickey, we are flying JetBlue and this will be our first time. Just looking for any tips for checking in, since we are accustomed to the "24 hour before flight" mayhem with Southwest...Anything similar needed for JetBlue? We are flying out of BDL.

TIA for any suggestions/tips for this overwhelmed Mommy!

 

[DEA]

When you book your flight, you should be able to select your seats for the plane right there. I am a usually-JetBlue-flyer and have seats for two upcoming trips already reserved. There is a pre-boarding call once the flight is ready to board, and if you have kids' things that you need to set up, I would encourage you to take advantage of this. Because all the seats are reserved, you don't have to worry about getting a seat where you want when you load, but it is better for everyone if you can get in with, say, a CARES system and get it hooked up before general boarding begins. It's the same with getting your kids onboard earlier if you have to carry them; you have more room to work with, especially if you're trying to wrangle luggage items, as well.

Otherwise, they just board from the back of the plane forward. They will call rows, and you just have to wait for your row to be called. People generally start forming a blob around the back of the line as they anticipate their rows being called. The sooner you get on, of course, the better shot you have at convenient overhead bin space. Another reason to use pre-boarding if you have a legitimate need for it. The gate attendants will be happy to let you know about this and any other things you might need, like gate-checking strollers.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Just an alert: last time I flew Jet Blue, they boarded the passengers in the extra legroom seats before anybody else - including passengers needing assistance (which would seem to include passengers traveling with infants).

 

[mommyrom]

Being that we are travelling with 4 kids, our seats are towards the back of the plane, as we usually do on SWA. So,

1. Would you recommend still boarding as soon as we are able and get situated?

2. Does our family meet the criteria for early boarding (after those mentioned in previous post, of course...) with our youngest being 3 years old?

3. We were not planning to use a carseat for the youngest this time around, due to it being one more thing to bring and moreso, since he HATED being in his seat last time we travelled when he was 2...Any thoughts?

TIA

 

[LWQuestie]

I flew JetBlue a few weeks ago, and saw the same procedure as kaytieeldr, and just checked the JetBlue site for more information.

What Is Your Boarding Procedure?

Boarding order

If you like to be one of the first people on the plane, upgrade to one of our spacious Even More™ Space seats! During our boarding process, customers sitting in those rows/seats are invited to board first. The specific boarding order is detailed below:

* Even More™ Space customers early boarding: Rows 1-5 and Exit Rows 10 and 11 on the A320, and Row 1 and Exit Row 12 on the E190
* Pre-boarding for families with children under the age of two and customers needing additional assistance
* Customers seated in Rows 20 and higher
* All remaining customers

For both of my recent flights, they called each group of 5 rows in order: 20 and up, 15 and up, 10 and up, etc., until the entire plane was boarded.

 

[n2mm]

I flew JetBlue a few weeks ago, and saw the same procedure as kaytieeldr, and just checked the JetBlue site for more information.

What Is Your Boarding Procedure?

Boarding order

If you like to be one of the first people on the plane, upgrade to one of our spacious Even More™ Space seats! During our boarding process, customers sitting in those rows/seats are invited to board first. The specific boarding order is detailed below:

* Even More™ Space customers early boarding: Rows 1-5 and Exit Rows 10 and 11 on the A320, and Row 1 and Exit Row 12 on the E190
* Pre-boarding for families with children under the age of two and customers needing additional assistance
* Customers seated in Rows 20 and higher
* All remaining customers

For both of my recent flights, they called each group of 5 rows in order: 20 and up, 15 and up, 10 and up, etc., until the entire plane was boarded.

Yep, this is how they did it for us too. We fly Jetblue exclusively now. Our fourth trip this year is coming up in a couple of weeks. OP, you might want to remember to go to the desk at the gate and get your stroller tagged if you have a stroller with you. The agents tend to wander around trying to tag the strollers as they arrive in the seating area. Also, not sure if you know about the Jetblue TVs, but you do need to bring your own headset. They do sell them for $2 each at the gate if you need to buy them....you get to keep them too. We are still using ours that we purchased about 15 trips ago. Not the greatest, but they get the job done. I carry earbuds too. My 4 yo granddaughter uses her childsize set. As a mommmy, don't forget to carry a small blanket as it sometimes gets chilly on the plane and the airlines no longer have blankets to pass out.....though they do sell a blanket and pillow set on Jetblue.....! Their snack and drink selection is pretty good too.